NEWSHayden Panettiere's Mom Lesley Vogel Was 'Numb' After Learning Her Daughter Died at 36: 'It Doesn't Feel Real'
Lesley Vogel opened up about the heartbreaking moment she learned her daughter, Hayden Panettiere, had died.
Aug. 24 2026, Published 12:44 p.m. ET
Lesley Vogel is still struggling to comprehend the sudden death of her 36-year-old daughter, Hayden Panettiere.
The late actress died of a suspected overdose on August 16 in South Carolina after years of struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.
'I Was Numb'
Hayden Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, said she was 'numb' after learning the actress had died.
"I was numb. I was just numb," Vogel said during an emotional interview with ABC News' Rhiannon Ally on Good Morning America.
"I just couldn't feel anything," she continued. "I still am not grasping this as real. It just doesn't. It doesn't feel real. My mind tells me it's not."
Lesley Vogel spoke on 'Good Morning America' on August 24.
Lesley Vogel Says Hayden Panettiere Knew Boyfriend Brian Hickerson Was 'Toxic'
Lesley Vogel said Hayden Panettiere knew her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was 'toxic.'
Vogel also gave more insight into Panettiere's troubled relationship with Brian Hickerson, whom the Heroes alum was on and off with since they started dating in 2018.
Hickerson faced domestic violence charges in 2020 involving the actress, which caused him to go to jail for 33 days, per Us Weekly.
"She knew that Brian was toxic," Vogel shared during the interview. "She knew she had to get him out of her life."
- Hayden Panettiere's Mom Lesley Vogel Says Daughter 'Knew Brian Hickerson Was Toxic' Before Her Death: 'She Had to Get Him Out of Her Life'
- Hayden Panettiere's Estranged Mother Lesley Vogel Refuses to 'Complain' After Deaths of Both Her Children: 'I Have the Strength to Get Back Up'
- Hayden Panettiere's Estranged Mom Says Family Was Trying to 'Get Rid' of Abusive Boyfriend Brian Hickerson in Scathing Statement After Actress' Death
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'I Just Lost It'
Lesley Vogel recalled the moment she found out Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson were back together.
Vogel revealed that she traveled to see Panettiere a year before her death and stayed with her for six weeks.
She thought the relationship was over between her daughter and Hickerson until she returned home and learned the pair reunited.
"When I got the phone call from her saying, 'I'm going to be with the person I love.'... 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."
Lesley Vogel Reflects on the Ultimatum She Gave Hayden Panettiere
Lesley Vogel shared the ultimatum she gave her daughter when she reconciled with Brian Hickerson.
After learning that Panettiere and Hickerson had reconciled, Vogel took advice from her therapist and told her daughter she would not speak to her if Hickerson was in her life.
"I needed it. I needed to have that pocket of time," Vogel shared, reflecting on the estrangement.
"I did not by any stretch of the imagination think that this was going to happen to Hayden... Maybe I didn't want to," she added about her daughter's untimely death.
During another part of the interview, Vogel discussed her daughter's teen years and when she started to see changes.
"I would say Hayden had a very happy life up until she got Heroes at 16. So here she was, the star of a major TV series. But I would say at about 17, I started seeing her going downhill. As she got older, then it wasn't my voice anymore. I wasn't in charge of her choices. I tried to give her the best advice I could," Vogel expressed.
