If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen those "Then and Now" videos of Hollywood legends. You see John Travolta dancing in Grease or looking sharp in Pulp Fiction, and inevitably, the comments section starts buzzing about his personal life. People want to know about his partners. Specifically, they search for John Travolta first wife thinking they’ll find a name from a forgotten 70s marriage.
But here’s the kicker. John Travolta didn't have a first wife before Kelly Preston.
Honestly, it’s one of those Mandela Effect things where people are so sure he was married twice, but he wasn't. He was only married once. However, the reason everyone gets confused is because of a woman named Diana Hyland. She wasn't his wife, but she was the absolute love of his life during his rise to superstardom, and her story is both beautiful and deeply tragic.
The Mystery of John Travolta’s First Wife
When people search for John Travolta first wife, they are usually looking for the woman who stood by him during the Saturday Night Fever era. Because he was so publicly devastated when Diana Hyland passed away, the public just... sort of married them in their minds.
They met on the set of the 1976 TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Travolta was only 22. Hyland was 40. Now, back in the mid-70s, an 18-year age gap was a massive deal. It wasn't like today where nobody bats an eye. It was scandalous. But Travolta didn't care. He was head over heels. He later told People magazine that he had never been more in love with anyone in his life.
It was a whirlwind.
They were together for less than a year. Imagine being 22, becoming the biggest star on the planet, and finding your soulmate all at once. That was Travolta in 1976. He thought they had decades ahead of them. He wasn't looking for a "starter marriage" or a Hollywood fling. He was looking for a partner.
Who was Diana Hyland?
Diana wasn't just some starlet. She was an Emmy-winning powerhouse. She had this sophisticated, blonde elegance that reminded people of Grace Kelly, but with a sharper, more modern edge. When she met John, she was a single mother to her son, Zachary, from a previous relationship with actor Joe Goodson.
Travolta stepped into that world completely.
💡 You might also like: Kellyanne Conway Age: Why Her 59th Year Matters More Than Ever
He wasn't just dating a co-star; he was joining a family. He grew close to her son. He spent his downtime at her home. It was a domestic life that contrasted sharply with the disco-dancing, leather-jacket-wearing image the world had of him. But then, everything broke.
The Tragedy That Changed Everything
Hyland had been diagnosed with breast cancer before she met Travolta, but she had undergone a mastectomy and believed she was in the clear. She wasn't. While John was away filming Saturday Night Fever—the movie that would define his career—her health took a sudden, violent turn for the worse.
He flew back to Los Angeles to be with her.
She died in his arms on March 27, 1977.
Think about that for a second. One of the most iconic images in cinema history is John Travolta in that white suit, pointing to the ceiling. He filmed those scenes while grieving the most intense loss of his life. He wore a black armband to the Academy Awards that year. He was shattered. This is why the John Travolta first wife search is so persistent; the grief was so public and so profound that it carried the weight of a lifelong marriage.
The Misconceptions About Marital Status
Why do we insist on calling her his wife?
- The Duration of the Grief: Travolta didn't just move on. He didn't marry Kelly Preston until 1991. That’s a fourteen-year gap. In the eyes of the public, if you mourn someone that long, they must have been a spouse.
- The "First" Narrative: In Hollywood, we love a comeback story and a "first love" story. Diana Hyland fits the "first love" role so perfectly that the internet naturally upgrades her to "first wife."
- Legal Confusion: Some old tabloids from the late 70s occasionally misidentified her as his spouse because they lived together, which was still a bit "edgy" for mainstream press back then.
Kelly Preston: The Only Woman to Actually Hold the Title
Since we’ve established there was no John Travolta first wife in a legal sense before 1991, we have to look at the woman who actually was his wife. Kelly Preston.
They met in 1987 while filming The Experts. If you haven't seen it, don't worry—hardly anyone has. It wasn't a hit. But for John and Kelly, it was everything. She was married to Kevin Gage at the time, so nothing happened immediately. But later, after her divorce and a brief engagement to Charlie Sheen (which ended after a notorious incident involving a gun), she and John reunited.
📖 Related: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
They married twice in 1991.
First, in a Scientology ceremony in Paris, which wasn't legally recognized in the States. Then, they did the legal paperwork in Florida a week later. This was the marriage that lasted 29 years until Kelly’s tragic death from breast cancer in 2020.
The parallels are haunting.
Both women he loved most—Diana and Kelly—died of the exact same disease. It’s a level of tragedy that feels scripted, yet it’s the reality he lived. When people search for his "first wife," they are often subconsciously trying to make sense of this pattern of loss. They are looking for the beginning of a story that ended in a way no one expected.
Other Names That Pop Up in the Search
Sometimes, when you’re digging into the John Travolta first wife rabbit hole, other names appear.
Marilu Henner is a big one. They dated on and off for years during the Taxi days. They were incredibly close, and she has spoken very fondly of him in her memoirs. But they never tied the knot.
There was also Anita Gillette, his co-star in the mid-70s. Again, just a relationship.
The truth is actually much simpler than the rumors suggest. John Travolta is a man of long-term devotion. He doesn't have a string of ex-wives. He doesn't have a trail of messy divorces. He has a history of loving women deeply and staying with them until the very end.
👉 See also: Jeremy Renner Accident Recovery: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Why the Search for "First Wife" Persists
Search engines are funny. They thrive on "missing" information. Because Travolta is such a massive figure, people assume there must be a "starter marriage" hidden in the archives of the 1970s. They see photos of him with Diana Hyland at the 1977 Emmy Awards—where he accepted her posthumous award—and they see a husband.
The emotional truth is that Diana Hyland held the position of a wife in his heart.
The legal truth is that she never signed a marriage certificate with him.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Researchers
If you are looking for accurate information on Travolta's relationship history, stop looking for marriage records before 1991. You won't find them. Instead, focus on these key periods to understand his life:
- 1976-1977: The Diana Hyland era. This is the "spiritual first wife" period. If you want to understand John's emotional depth, watch The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Their chemistry is real because the love was real.
- 1978-1990: The bachelor years. He dated, he worked, he mourned, and he joined the Church of Scientology, which significantly influenced his social circle and how he met future partners.
- 1991-2020: The Kelly Preston era. This is his only legal marriage.
- 2020-Present: His life as a widower and devoted father to Ella and Ben.
To get the most out of your celebrity research, always cross-reference "first wife" claims with actual marriage licenses. In the case of John Travolta, the lack of a first wife is actually what makes his life story so unique in Hollywood. He isn't a man of many marriages; he's a man of two great, tragic loves.
If you're writing about him or just curious, remember that the "first wife" doesn't exist. There is only the first love, Diana, and the only wife, Kelly. Both left an indelible mark on the man he became.
Check out the 1977 Emmy Awards footage if you want to see the raw emotion of that first loss. It’s one of the few times a Hollywood star has been that vulnerable on a global stage. It explains more about him than any marriage certificate ever could.