Fame
In an emotional new interview, Lesley Vogel opened up about the difficult final chapter of her relationship with her daughter and asked the public to stop judging the way she is grieving.
Hayden Panettiere’s mother is speaking publicly about something she says has been weighing on her for years.
In an emotional appearance on Good Morning America on August 24, Lesley Vogel opened up about her complicated relationship with her daughter and the painful period when the two were estranged before Hayden’s death.
Panettiere, the actress best known for Heroes and Nashville, died on August 16 at the age of 36.
Her sudden death has left fans and loved ones searching for answers, while her family has been dealing with grief under an enormous public spotlight.
Now, her mother is telling her side of a relationship that had become increasingly complicated.
‘I never stopped loving her’
Vogel explained that her relationship with Hayden became strained during the final year of her daughter’s life.
According to Vogel, she had tried to be there for Hayden during some of the most difficult periods of her life, including struggles connected to her former relationship with Brian Hickerson.
At one point, Vogel moved in with her daughter because she wanted to support her.
But the situation eventually became too difficult, particularly after Hayden chose to reconnect with Hickerson.
Vogel ultimately left.
That decision appears to have created an even greater distance between mother and daughter.
Still, Vogel made one thing very clear during her interview:
The distance did not mean she stopped loving her daughter.
Responding to the criticism
Vogel also addressed criticism she has received since Hayden’s death.
Some people online have questioned the circumstances surrounding the estrangement and the way Vogel has spoken publicly about her daughter.
Her response was emotional.
She pushed back against people who believe they understand what happened inside the family and defended her right to grieve Hayden in her own way.
The situation is particularly complicated because Hayden had previously discussed their relationship in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
Some of Hayden’s recollections differed from her mother’s account, including a disagreement over what happened when Hayden fired Vogel as her manager when she was 19.
Vogel disputed that account and offered her own version of what happened.
A complicated family story
The tragedy has also brought renewed attention to Hayden’s difficult years.
Vogel spoke about watching her daughter struggle after becoming famous at a very young age.
Hayden became a star as a teenager, eventually finding worldwide success through Heroes and later Nashville.
But behind the success was a much more complicated personal life, including addiction struggles and an abusive relationship that became public.
Vogel said she wanted people to remember that side of Hayden’s story without reducing her daughter to her struggles.
She wants people to remember Hayden as a talented, intelligent and deeply loved woman.
Her family is still looking for answers
Hayden’s death remains under investigation.
Authorities have said there were no initial signs of trauma or foul play, while the cause of death has not yet been determined. The DEA has also become involved in the ongoing investigation.
For Vogel, however, the investigation is only one part of what the family is dealing with.
There is also the grief.
The unanswered questions.
And the pain of knowing that a complicated relationship with her daughter was never fully repaired.
Whatever happened between them, Vogel made it clear that she still sees Hayden as her daughter first.
And now, she is asking the public to remember that there was much more to Hayden Panettiere than the difficult chapters that made headlines.
“You don’t have a right to tell me how I mourn,” Vogel said while addressing the criticism she has faced.