By Page Six | Created at 2026-08-17 16:36:40 | Updated at 2026-08-17 17:19:49
1 hour ago
Gayle King believed Hayden Panettiere was “struggling” during their May interview, three months before the late actress’ tragic passing.
The “CBS Mornings” co-host called Panettiere’s death at 36 “so, so sad” and “heartbreaking” during Monday’s show.
“It was hard when she was here that day,” King, 71, recalled of chatting with the “Nashville” alum about her “This Is Me: A Reckoning” memoir.
“When she was here in the studio that day, and I was talking to her off-camera, she was saying she felt that she was in a good place,” the journalist noted.
However, King added, “She was still, clearly still struggling. To wake up to hear this news was really tough. She was so good. She would’ve turned 37 on Friday.”
Panettiere died Sunday in a luxury apartment complex in South Carolina, with 911 dispatch audio revealing she suffered “cardiac arrest” from a suspected “overdose.”
The “Heroes” alum previously struggled with alcohol and opioid addiction, which she wrote about in her tell-all, as well as her abusive romance with Brian Hickerson, her younger brother’s 2023 death and more personal trials.
While discussing the book with King earlier this year, Panettiere insisted she was “better” and “healthier than [she’d] been in a long time.”
The Golden Globe nominee identified as the “rawest version” of herself at the time, noting that she was “still working on [her]self all the time.”
She also opened up about her connection to 11-year-old daughter Kaya, whom she welcomed in 2014 with then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko — and relinquished custody of four years later.
“I’m so blessed to have a great relationship with her. I fly over there as much as I can,” Panettiere said of the Ukraine-based preteen.
“I’m on FaceTime with her all the time. She’s now 11 years old and she’s calling Mommy more and more.”
In 2022, she explained on “Red Table Talk” that signing over custody in 2018 was the “hardest” but “best” choice for her child.
“[I needed] to make sure she was OK, take care of myself and make sure I could be a good mom to her,” Panettiere explained. “And sometimes that means letting go.”
During one of her final interviews in May, the former child star teased “exciting” plans for the future, saying she had “a lot more life left to live.”
Similarly, she shared dreams to direct and write during her last public appearance at a Los Angeles book event.
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