On the wings of gay love

Kelly Preston and her husband John Travolta at the premiere of 'The Last Song' at the Arclight theatre in Hollywood, California March 25, 2010. Photo: Mario Anzuoni

Kelly Preston and her husband John Travolta at the premiere of 'The Last Song' at the Arclight theatre in Hollywood, California March 25, 2010. Photo: Mario Anzuoni

Published Jun 7, 2012

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Actor John Travolta engaged in a six-year gay affair with his pilot.

According to the Daily Mail, the ‘Grease’ star enjoyed a lengthy relationship with Doug Gotterba in the years before his marriage to Kelly Preston in 1991.

The claims come from Gotterba’s ex-boyfriend and Travolta’s former secretary.

Joan Edwards, who worked for Travolta from 1978 to 1994 as a secretary, revealed matter-of-factly: “Of course I knew he [Travolta] was gay. It never bothered me”. She further claims that she is good friends with Gotterba, who isn’t quoted in the story. She says the pilot started working for Travolta in 1981.

The main thrust of the article comes from Gotterba’s ex Robert Britz.

“Doug told me right at the beginning of our relationship that he'd had a homosexual relationship with John Travolta in the 1980s,” he revealed.

Britz also said that Gotterba had showed him a home movie of Travolta without his shirt on, and told him how he would chauffeur the actor to gay stores and how “lucrative” it was to work for him.

However, according to Britz, Gotterba gradually grew tired of Travolta.

“Doug said that he hated sleeping with John because his body was very hairy and he didn't like they way John smelled. John would also become very heavy between movies. Doug called him ‘huge’ and said it turned him off.

“After a few years, Doug grew apart from John sexually, and John's advances eventually started to repulse him. The relationship ended shortly thereafter.”

According to the Enquirer, Travolta was desperate to conceal his fling with Gotterba, going as far as to publicly date actress Brooke Shields. She was 16-years-old at the time.

In the 1997 biography, ‘John Travolta: Back in Character’, author Wensley Clarkson claims this quickie romance for the cameras was set up by agents. - IOL

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