Jay Shetty Remembers Hayden Panettiere, Reflects on Their Interview

Jay Shetty is paying tribute to actress Hayden Panettiere.

Amid the ongoing heartfelt tributes to the late actress, who died Sunday at age 36, clips from her emotional interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast have recirculated online. Throughout Panettiere’s interview with Shetty, which took place in May, she reflected on being a child star and growing up in the spotlight, the difficulties of facing early success and how her hidden battles shaped her adulthood, including postpartum depression, grief and addiction.

Shetty took to social media to reflect on her vulnerable interview.

“Dear Hayden,” Shetty begins the post. “I’ve been devastated and heartbroken since I heard the news. I’m in shock and have been processing for the past day on your legacy and our loss. Just a few months ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with you on On Purpose. After the episode you told me it was truly healing. You said I was now like a big brother to you and that I helped you be brave. But Hayden, you were the brave one. You were courageous, resilient and so incredibly strong through so many difficult moments in your life. You should never have had to experience the things you did.”

Shetty added, “I hope you know how loved you are. How many people you helped. How your vulnerability moved others. My heart and prayers are with you, your daughter, your family, friends and fans. Rest in peace, Hayden.”

Panettiere is survived by her parents and daughter Kaya, who she shares with ex Wladimir Klitschko. After giving up custody of Kaya to Klitschko, Panettiere told Shetty, her daughter has been building a “beautiful life” in Ukraine.

“The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be OK with it is heartbreaking,” she told Shetty at the time of her decision. “It couldn’t be further from the truth. It became this horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse, and just me trying to find my way back.”

She also told Shetty she’d formed a strong bond with Kaya nonetheless: “I have faith that she is going to come to me and that we’re going to have an incredible relationship and bond and friendship that a lot of parents don’t get to have with their kids.”

On Tuesday Klitschko also paid tribute to his former partner, saying their family was going through “profound shock and grief” and that Panettiere’s death “saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.”