Hayden Panettiere had planned to visit her daughter Kaia in Ukraine before her untimely death at the age of 36 on Sunday afternoon.
“I last saw her a few months ago,” hair stylist and close friend of the Heroes alum Eric Orellana said in an exclusive interview with Page Six on Monday.
“She was talking about how she wanted to celebrate the holidays, and she wanted to go and meet her daughter. Her daughter was always her top priority. She loved her very much.”
Eric Orellana opens up about Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with daughter
Orellana, who has collaborated with Panettiere for three years, highlighted that Panettiere “loves spending time” with 11-year-old Kaia, often displaying pre-adolescent photos of her and sharing stories about her.
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“His daughter was the absolute light of his life,” the stylist said. “She lit up when she talked about him. Everything she did revolved around him.”
Reflecting on Panettiere’s tragic passing, Orellana said, “I can’t imagine it being anything but accidental because she just loved her daughter and never gave up on her.”
Where is Kaya?
Kaia has been living in Ukraine with her father, Wladimir Klitschko, Panettiere’s former fiancé, since 2018. The arrangement followed the Scream 4 actress’ decision to give up custody amid her struggle with postpartum depression and addiction.
The actress has maintained cordial relations with Klitschko, with whom she was in a relationship from 2009 to 2018. Recently, he expressed his appreciation for the “really intense, incredible bond” he shared with Kaa before her passing.
Hayden Panettiere talks about physique
Speaking with Jay Shetty on the On Purpose podcast in May, she said, “I go to travel as much as I can. I see him. I spend a lot of time on FaceTime with him, but we talk about really deep things.”
“It was incredibly difficult,” she continued. “The fact that my baby is not going to be with me all day, every day… you can’t put it into words. It’s a really intense emotion or a lot of emotions really strung together.”
On Sunday, Hayden’s father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her passing to Page Six through a statement, saying, “She was an incredible light and force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her and to the millions who watched her on-screen. We ask for privacy as our family takes time to heal from this unimaginable loss.”
Hayden Panettiere’s health issues: New details emerge
The Scream 4 star was reportedly facing serious back problems earlier this year. His longtime hairdresser and friend, Eric Orellana, noted that Panettiere was in “really severe” pain, which began to affect his mobility.
“It was difficult for him to even move his legs,” he said.
In an interview with Page Six, Orellana said she knew she had difficulties with her back earlier this year.
Another source told the publication that the actress appeared a little tired at times earlier this year. However, she was known as a night owl and had many responsibilities. Page Six cited a source as saying that Panettiere sometimes struggled with anxiety and sometimes took medication for it, which could sometimes affect her speech.