A Look Inside Kelly Preston and John Travolta's Love Story 4 Years After Her Death

John Travolta will “always” remember his late wife Kelly Preston.

The actors were first linked in 1987, spending nearly 30 married years together before the ​​Jerry Maguire actress died of breast cancer at 57 on July 12, 2020. She was survived by her daughter Ella, now 24, and son Benjamin, now 13.

Four years after Preston’s death, here’s a look inside their decades-long love story — from Travolta’s glamorous New Year’s Eve proposal to the three children they shared.

The two stars first met early in their careers on the set of the 1989 comedy The Experts. Though the film fizzled at the box office, it was the start of a friendship between the two — one that would later blossom into a romance.

During the early days of the pair’s friendship on set, Preston was nearing the end of a two-year marriage with Kevin Gage — who she would later call the “wrong person” for her in a 2018 appearance on Watch What Happens Live!

Then, Preston briefly moved in with George Clooney until they called it quits in 1989 and was briefly engaged to actor Charlie Sheen (who proposed with a 25-carat diamond ring) until 1990.

Travolta and Preston started dating soon after, and it didn’t take long for the Grease actor to lock down his future wife, popping the question inside the Palace Hotel restaurant in Gstaad, Switzerland, with a six-carat yellow-and-white diamond ring on New Years Eve 1991. And according to Jonathan Krane, who produced Look Who’s Talking Too (starring Travolta), Preston was surprised by the quick proposal. "She screamed," Krane remembered.

Even at the time, those close to the couple knew they were destined for a lifetime of love.

In an interview with PEOPLE in 1991, Preston’s mother revealed that, after her daughter’s first marriage and short-lived engagement, this one was different. “Kelly once told me, ‘I always get involved with the bad-boy kind,’ ” said Linda Carlson. Travolta, on the other hand, was “so kind and loving and generous” — “what she needs,” she continued.

Preston also had eyes for the long term, telling Entertainment Tonight after their engagement that they "plan to have some babies." And after the couple said their “I dos” at a quiet ceremony in Paris — and then again a week later at Daytona Beach, Florida — they did just that, welcoming their first son Jett in 1993.

In 2000, the lovebirds grew their family further, welcoming their first daughter, Ella. Over the decade, as the actors raised their two young ones, they stayed busy in their professional lives — Travolta starred in films likes Swordfish, Ladder 49 and Lonely Hearts; Preston had roles in The Cat in the Hat and What a Girl Wants — and even brought their kids out for the occasional red carpet appearance together as a family.

But in 2009, tragedy struck the family when Jett, who was 16 at the time, died while the family was on vacation in the Bahamas from a seizure-induced head injury. 

"[John] never dreamed of this — their relationship was so close," family attorney Mike Ossi said at the time. "He always said, 'I'm happy as long as my kids are happy.' He is heartbroken. To bury your son is the worst thing you can ever do."

The next year, Travolta and Preston welcomed another baby boy: Benjamin. After his birth, Travolta told PEOPLE: "He's given the house a renewed spirit and purpose."

Amid their highs and lows, the two actors settled into a comfortable married life in their final decade together, frequently gathering to celebrate milestone birthdays and reaffirming their love with sweet anniversary posts on social media.

On July 12, 2020, Travolta shared the sad news that his wife had died after two years with breast cancer. 

"It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many," the actor wrote on Instagram. “Kelly's love and life will always be remembered.”

Even after losing his wife, the star has continued to keep her memory alive, taking to social media to honor Preston on the birthdays, wedding anniversaries and Mother’s Days that they couldn’t share together.