Hayden Panettiere is opening up about her experience on “Amber Alert.”
The star spoke with Access Hollywood about working on the film, and how being a mom to daughter Kaya impacted her work on the project.
“It certainly made it easier and much more real. Of course I kepy thinking what I would pray and hope that other people would do if my, if something god forbid, ever happened to my child,” she said.
The 35-year-old also got candid offering advice to others who are experiencing grief.
“Time is the greatest healer. But what else is incredibly important is to not sweep it under the carpet. And to allow yourself to go through the stages of grief properly. It’s important to grieve. If you don’t grieve it can transform you in very negative ways over time. I would just say, you make plans in life and god laughs and it doesn’t always make sense. And sometimes it rocks you and your belief system. But, you have to process it even if you want to run away from it,” she said.
One way she has been able to embrace a healthy lifestyle has been through fitness and wellness. She opened up about her experience working with her friend and personal trainer, Marnie Alton.
“I gained weight in record time after I went through my grief, experiencing the loss of my brother. And there’s a chemical that’s released in your brain, into your body, when you are stressed or sad, all of the above and it’s amazing at making you gain weight,” she said.
“So I gained all this weight, I couldn’t fit into my clothes, I didn’t want to look in the mirror and I definitely didn’t want to leave the house and risk anyone taking a bad picture of me and me having to live with it. So then I was put in touch with my, she’s not just a trainer, but she has also become a life coach, and a dear friend and a therapist, and all of the above, Marnie Alton. She is incredible.”
“She does this combination of ballet, and barre and yoga and pilates,” she shared, “I felt within two session of working with her all my muscles lifting off the ground. But she also knew when I just needed to have a session where we went on a long walk, we got our body moving and we’d chat. And I was able to vent, and talk about what I was feeling and going through.”
Hayden says she and Marnie have “laughed together” and “cried together,” and she appreciates her approach to fitness.
“There’s no feeling of being in a bootcamp, and being shamed or being pushed too far, to the point where you hate it,” she shared.
“Amber Alert” is in select theaters and on demand Sept. 27.