DESPERATE to save his marriage in the wake of his ever-growing gay scandal, JOHN TRAVOLTA whisked his long-suffering wife KELLY PRESTON off to Paris for a romantic repeat of their honeymoon.
But no matter how he wined and dined her on the mid-September trip, the two couldn’t seem to escape the devastation that the embarrassing scandal has wreaked on their troubled union.
“John put on a great performance as a doting husband, but just about anyone could see how hollow it was,” an insider told The ENQUIRER. “And the strain of the ongoing scandal is obviously taking a terrible toll on Kelly.”
The beleaguered 58-year-old “Pulp Fiction” star pulled out all the stops as he squired Kelly around the City of Light, where the couple wed 21 years ago.
In a pitiful attempt to patch things up, Travolta took his wife to some of the same places they’d visited on their 1991 honeymoon – and even arranged outings with famous friends, including actor pal Forest Whitaker and his wife.
But beneath the veneer of his forced smiles, sources say he appeared to be stressed out and gaunt. And Kelly, a source adds, has dropped at least 10 pounds in recent weeks.
“Kelly tried to seem excited with all of John’s surprises, but she looked thin and tired,” said the insider. “Clearly, the emotional damage from this gay scandal is piling up.”
John pitched the impromptu getaway to Kelly – who turns 50 on Oct. 13 – as a second honeymoon and early birthday gift rolled into one.
But the insider insists that John’s REAL motivation was to get Kelly out of the country while The ENQUIRER’s bombshell interview with Doug Gotterba, who claims he had a six-year affair with the actor, was the hottest story around!
Gotterba made the stunning accusation that Travolta enjoyed having multiple male sex partners and wanted to make a sex tape! And in yet another devastating slap in the face to Kelly, Gotterba added that Travolta confessed that he STILL preferred men a year AFTER marrying her in 1991.
“Ever since that story came out, John has been trying to shield Kelly from it,” noted the insider.
Sweeping Kelly off her feet and jetting off to exotic locales has become John’s standard response when dealing with the gay scandal that just won’t go away.
In mid-June, he took her to Hawaii shortly after two masseurs filed lawsuits claiming he sexually assaulted them. And in July, the couple spent several days in Greece, where they were spotted holding hands and eating ice cream.
At the time, a source noted: “John has always managed to rebound from his gay scandals by whisking Kelly off on exotic vacations.”
But this time, the source says it didn’t seem to be working.
“John’s finding out he can no longer outrun the scandal,” explained the insider. “Meanwhile, Kelly bravely puts on that gorgeous smile when she can, but in private she’s shed many, many tears. And the heartache is really beginning to show.”
