Jay Shetty Reveals What Hayden Panettiere Told Him After Filming Their Emotional Podcast Interview

Jay Shetty is reflecting on the time he spent with Hayden Panettiere months before her sudden death.

The Nashville and Heroes actress died on Sunday, Aug. 16, at age 36, and an official cause of death has not yet been released.

In an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, Aug. 18, Shetty, 38, shared a tribute to the actress and said he’s “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. I hope you know how loved you are. How many people you helped. How your vulnerability moved others,” Shetty continued.

“My heart and prayers are with you, your daughter, your family, friends and fans. Rest in peace, Hayden.”

Panettiere appeared on the May 11 episode of Shetty’s podcast, days before the release of her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. One of the stories she shared during the wide-ranging conversation was that she was led by someone she “had grown to trust” into a room on a boat and put in a bed next to an “undressed man who was very famous.” She was 18 at the time.

“When you really find somebody that you trust, you hold on to them for dear life and you feel so lucky,” she said. “So to be betrayed like that is just an awful feeling.”

Gayle King was also reflective on her time with Panettiere on CBS Mornings on Monday, Aug. 17. Recalling her May interview with the actress, King said, “It was hard when she was here that day.”

Like Shetty’s podcast, she appeared on the broadcast to promote her memoir, and King said she was “clearly still struggling.”

Panettiere also appeared on The Tamron Hall Show while promoting the memoir, and the show reposted a clip from the May interview on Aug. 17. “When Hayden joined Tamron earlier this year, she spoke candidly about addiction, motherhood, rebuilding her life and practicing radical acceptance,” reads the caption. “As we remember Hayden, we’re looking back at these moments and the honesty she shared with the Tam Fam.”

Tamron Hall shared the post on her Instagram Stories, adding, “Hayden trusted me with a deeply personal conversation. I’m grateful for that moment and for her honesty.”

A friend of Panettiere’s, Nashville-based musician Clayton Johnson shared a tribute on Instagram Monday, revealing the last thing she texted him. He wrote, in part, “It’s been a couple of weeks since our last phone call, but the last thing you ever texted me was, ‘Honestly, people think it’s a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me.’ That was you in a nutshell.”