What We Know About John Travolta Selling His House Near The Scientology Headquarters

Next to Tom Cruise, John Travolta has arguably been Hollywood's most notable Scientologist for decades. Joining the church in 1975, Travolta has been vocal about the religion helping him after his son Jett died in 2009. "It's the worst thing that's ever happened in my life," the actor said, per Us Weekly. "The church never left our sides for two years. I don't know if I would have made it through without their support." 

Such was Travolta's devotion to Scientology over the years that he even adapted church founder L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 novel "Battlefield Earth" into a film in 2000 (to much critical and audience panning), an effort Screenrant called a "passion project of his for nearly two decades." Despite its widespread reputation as ... pretty terrible, Travolta defended "Battlefield Earth" to The Daily Beast in 2017, expressing zero "regret." 

Speculation that the actor distanced himself from Scientology, however, began after wife Kelly Preston died from breast cancer in July 2020, per the Daily Mail, and Travolta thanked via Instagram MD Anderson Cancer Center and "all the medical centers that have helped" Preston with her treatment. (Scientology is reportedly against medical treatment outside of their own aid.) In Touch also made the claim in February that Travolta's post took direct aim at the church, declaring him "free after 45 years " (despite a spokesperson denying that he severed ties). Now in August, a particular real estate sale by Travolta has kicked up such rumors again. Here's why. 

Location is everything when it comes to real estate, as they say. In that case, John Travolta might very well be ending his days as a Scientologist for good — or so wondered the New York Post after Travolta sold his mansion near the Church of Scientology's headquarters in Clearwater, Fla. for $4 million in early August. The sale, the outlet pointed out, comes only "a little over a year after his wife Kelly Preston's death at the home following her battle with breast cancer." 

Whether he is ditching the religion or, perhaps, merely leaving some bad memories behind, Travolta stands to make a profit from the sale, having purchased it for $3 million in 2017, per property records. His former Clearwater, Fla. home (which is only a mile from Scientology headquarters), also boasts neighbors such as fellow famous Scientologists Tom Cruise, who owns a "downtown penthouse" per New York Post, and Kirstie Alley (who commands "a multi-residence waterfront compound" there). 

Whether you're a church member or not, Travolta's ex-mansion's "seaside infinity-edge pool," 5 bedrooms and 5.5 baths, and "artist's studio with a bath" sure sound like fine amenities — if one can fork over the cash, of course. 

Following Kelly Preston's 2020 death, former Scientology members have been outspoken in their belief that John Travolta is breaking away from the church, per the Daily Mail. Not only was the "Hairspray" star open in his praise for the medical staff who tended to his wife, but Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard was reportedly "really opposed to chemotherapy and radiation," according to one of the Daily Mail's sources. 

Ex-Scientologist Jeffrey Augustine told the Daily Mail that such a personal loss may have shifted Travolta's outlook on the religion, especially given the church's apparent lack of support for Preston after her cancer diagnosis. "It'll hurt to lose your wife of 30 years ... there will be grief, it's human," Augustine said. "There's no acknowledgement in that statement of Scientology, David Miscavige, or auditing, there's nothing — that's critical, he took care of it in his own hands, this is a personal matter, like 'I don't need the Church.'"

As fans and friends speculate over Travolta's future with Scientology, the Church's other über-famous member reportedly isn't pleased, according to Gossip Cop. "Tom [Cruise] and John have always tiptoed around each other, but they really got into it when Tom recently was informed that John was pulling away from the church," a source told New Idea (via Gossip Cop). So, is the sale of Travolta's mansion more indication he's breaking from the church? What does it mean for his relationship with Scientology?

Though the sale of John Travolta's $4 million mansion in Clearwater is fueling rampant reports of a possible Scientology break, it's still unclear what this signifies. 

Per Ocala.com, the actor still owns a private residence in Ocala, Florida, which is a two-hour drive from Clearwater. As the outlet notes, it's a unique property situated in Jumbolair, an exclusive gated community complete with an aircraft runway. Jumbolair is capable of accommodating planes as large as a Boeing 737 — allowing Travolta, a licensed pilot, to fly in and out of the home at his leisure.

Furthermore, Variety writes that Travolta owns an additional home in Calabasas, California, which is just a 45-minute drive to Los Angeles, home of another Scientology enclave. Though his Clearwater property is certainly the most conveniently located to the Scientology center, Travolta still seems to have multiple avenues of connection with the church. Whatever decisions he makes about his faith are also difficult to know based on real estate alone.