Hayden Panettiere's mother is opening up about the painful final months of her daughter's life and the estrangement that kept them apart before the actress' death.
Lesley Vogel spoke about losing her daughter, Panettiere's struggles and their complicated relationship in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" aired Monday, Aug. 24.
Vogel said she is still struggling to comprehend the death of the "Nashville" star, who died Aug. 16 at 36.
"I was numb. I was just numb. I just couldn’t feel anything," Vogel said. "I still am not grasping this as real. It just doesn't … it doesn't feel real."
Vogel also reflected on when she first noticed changes in her daughter, who began acting as a child and landed her breakout role on NBC’s "Heroes" as a teenager.
"I would say Hayden had a very happy life up until she got 'Heroes' at 16," Vogel said, adding that she began seeing her daughter "going downhill" around age 17.
"As she got older, then it wasn't my voice anymore. I wasn't in charge of her choices," she said. "I tried to give her the best advice I could, but again, you know, any young person, teen, they want to be liberated, and I get that."
Vogel also discussed Panettiere's relationship with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko and their daughter, Kaya. She said the custody arrangement involving Kaya was a particularly difficult period for Panettiere and, in her view, contributed to her daughter's struggles."The situation with Hayden and Vlad and their daughter, that was a very difficult period for her," Vogel said. "In my opinion, that was the catalyst that she just couldn't keep those demons away."
How did Hayden Panettiere's brother die?
Vogel, whose son Jansen Panettiere died in 2023, pushed back against criticism over how she has publicly handled the deaths of both of her children.
"I would say to the haters out there, you don't have a right to tell me how I mourn the loss of my second child," she said. "That's my domain."
Hayden Panettiere's younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died unexpectedly at age 28 on Feb. 19, 2023. His family later said a medical examiner determined he died from cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, coupled with aortic valve complications.
Hayden Panettiere's mom reveals why they were estranged before her death
Vogel said she and Panettiere were not speaking during the final months of the actress' life following a disagreement over Panettiere's relationship with Brian Hickerson.
According to Vogel, she stayed with her daughter for several weeks about a year ago while Panettiere was trying to distance herself from Hickerson. Vogel said she eventually returned home to Florida after noticing her daughter pulling away.
Their relationship further deteriorated when Panettiere told her mother she was again with Hickerson, Vogel said."When I got the phone call from her saying, 'I'm going to be with the person I love,' and I said … I just lost it," Vogel recalled. "I could not believe that she had gone that far back, that he had been successful in reeling her back in with all of the things he had done to her."
Vogel said that, on the advice of her therapist, she told Panettiere she could not remain in contact with her while Hickerson was part of her life. The decision ultimately marked the beginning of their estrangement.
"I needed it. I needed to have that pocket of time," Vogel said. "Of course, I thought it was going to be a pocket of time. I did not, by any stretch of the imagination, think that this was going to happen to Hayden."
Lesley Vogel disputes account in Hayden Panettiere's memoir
Vogel also addressed a passage in Panettiere's memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," released in May.
In the book, Panettiere recalled telling her mother at 19 that she no longer wanted Vogel to manage her career and alleged that Vogel responded, "You owe me."
Vogel disputed her daughter's recollection.
"I remember being in her trailer and literally saying nothing," Vogel said. "I knew that day would come."
Asked whether reading Panettiere's version of the exchange hurt, Vogel said, "I know I didn't say what she said I said."
Despite the complicated nature of their relationship, Vogel said she hopes her daughter will be remembered for more than the struggles she faced.
"I want Hayden to be remembered for the talented, beautiful, outgoing, intelligent woman she really was," Vogel said. "But I also want people to understand that it is my belief that she was suffering."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hayden Panettiere's mom hits back at 'haters' for judging 'how I mourn' death
