John Travolta pays tribute to his late son in a heartwarming birthday message

John Travolta has commemorated his late son in a heartbreaking post on social media, sending him his love on what would have been his 29th birthday. 

The Grease star took to Instagram to share a sweet photo of him smiling at his son Jett, who died tragically in the Bahamas in 2009. 

“Happy birthday my beautiful Jetty. I love you,” he captioned the black white-and-white picture. 

Jett passed away at the age of 16 on the Grand Bahama island after he hit his head against a bathtub and suffered a fatal seizure. He was discovered by a maid at the luxurious resort at which the Travolta family was staying, who immediately alerted the front desk. 

The eldest son of John and his late wife, Kelly Preston, Jett had struggled with seizures since the age of two. He was diagnosed with autism as well as Kawasaki disease, a condition that causes the body's blood vessels to become inflamed, resulting in fever and swelling. 

John experienced crushing grief again last July when Kelly Preston, to whom he was married for 19 years, died of breast cancer. He confirmed the devastating news to his Instagram followers in a lengthy post, in which he called his wife ‘beautiful’ and ‘courageous’ before thanking the medical team who treated her during her two-year battle with the disease. 

John and Kelly had two other children during their marriage – Ella, born in 2000, and Benjamin, who was born after Jett's death in 2010. The Pulp Fiction star regularly shares updates of his children on Instagram, most recently wishing his daughter Ella a happy 21st birthday.