Kirstie Alley’s Ex-Husband Parker Stevenson Honors Her Memory With Sweet Tribute | “So Grateful for Our Years Together”

Kirstie Alley passed away at the age of 71 on Monday following a brief battle with cancer, her children True and Lillie Parker announced in a statement. "She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead," they said. "As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother. Her children remembered her zest and passion for life, her children, her many pets, and of course, her craft." Her ex-husband Parker Stevenson also paid tribute to the late Emmy-winning actor, who won two Emmys for Cheers and David's Mother.

Sharing a picture of the two where Alley grabbed onto his button-down shirt as he smiled at the camera, he wrote, "Dear Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed. With love, Parker." The late actress was married twice in her life: first to high school sweetheart Bob Alley from 1970 to 1977 and a few years later to Parker Stevenson from 1983 to 1997. After she experienced a miscarriage, in 1992 they adopted their first child, a son named William True, and later they adopted a girl named Lillie in 1995. According to TODAY, 70-year-old Stevenson and Alley co-starred in the miniseries North & South: Book 2, Love and War.

Alley's costar, actor John Travolta also paid tribute to her and shared a beautiful throwback photograph of the star and another of the two of them grinning at each other at the 1989 Los Angeles premiere of Look Who’s Talking. Travolta and Alley met as co-stars on the set of the 1989 comedy. "Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I've ever had," Travolta said of the late actor, adding,  "I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again." Alley admitted that she had strong feelings towards her costar Travolta all her life. It took her "years to not look at John as a romantic interest," she once said, adding that he was "the greatest love of my life, Travolta has lost several loved ones to cancer including Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John and his wife of decades Kelly Preston who died in 2020 at age 57 after a two-year battle with breast cancer.

References:

https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/kirstie-alley-ex-husband-parker-stevenson-tribute-2022-rcna60360

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Photo by Bryan Bedder (R) Photo by Presley Ann