Kelly Preston's Scientology confession

As her family reels from another scandal, the actress finally lifts the veil of secrecy over her controversial beliefs. Jackie Brygel reports

As far as bad weeks go, Kelly Preston can certainly count the past few as among the worst in her life. But as she struggles to keep her family intact after husband John Travolta was accused of sexually assaulting male masseurs – which he denies – there’s no doubt she’s relying on the one constant in her life – Scientology.

Speaking freely for the first time about the mysterious church, Kelly, 49, has admitted she’s “forever indebted” to Scientology for saving her life. In a no-holds-barred TV interview with Amanda de Cadenet, recorded before the shock allegations made against her husband of 21 years, Kelly reveals she was “drowning” in grief following the 2009 death of her son Jett, 16, and questioned whether she could keep going.

But Kelly, who – along with John – is an avid supporter of the Church of Scientology, has revealed she found the strength to move on through the religion’s mysterious “auditing” process, which is described as a form of “spiritual counselling” in which the subject is questioned by a church-trained auditor.

“It helps rid the mind of painful experience completely,” she says. “[My grief] felt like a sea of wet blankets, and then I just peeled them off, layer by layer. I can now say, ‘I want to live.’ I feel like the weight of the world was lifted.”