“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death.”

I get to spend my days writing all about the pop culture stories that your group chats are talking about.

Hayden's father, Alan "Skip" Panettiere, with whom she has a closer relationship, was the first to share the news of her death in a statement on Aug. 16, saying: "She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her -- and to the millions who watched her onscreen."