Charles Esten carried out on the identical venue the place his former “Nashville” co-star Hayden Panettiere died, simply days earlier than her passing.
The actor shared the “unusual coincidence” in his Instagram tribute to the late 36-year-old on Monday.
He famous that his present was “not solely in Greenville, South Carolina,” the place Panettiere died of an obvious overdose Sunday, however in the very same location.
“We had been really in Judson Mills, itself (the place the [Foundry] venue is positioned),” Esten defined. “Alongside the horrific information of her passing, [my wife, Patty Hanson, and I] have each been surprised to listen to in information reviews that Hayden had apparently arrived there on the identical Judson Mills (the loft residences, not the venue) the very subsequent day.”
He clarified, “By then, (Saturday) our tour bus had taken us by way of the evening to Wilmington, the place we had been establishing for my subsequent present, oblivious to all that was to come back.”
Dubbing this “such an odd coincidence,” he wrote, “I simply want that it had really put us there collectively on the identical time. And that we in some way might have ran into her. And acquired to hug her, and snigger in amazement along with her. And inform her how a lot we love her once more. ❤️”
The “heartbroken” musician was “surprised and saddened” to listen to of Panettiere’s passing — and described the second they met after he auditioned for “Nashville,” on which he performed Deacon Claybourne for six seasons.
“I … went to open the door to depart. As an alternative of swinging all the best way out, the door ran into anyone. Kinda arduous,” he recalled.
“To my full shock, it was Hayden Paniettiere, who — in full Juliette Barnes mode — had been listening along with her ear to the door,” the singer added. “Her face immediately bloomed into probably the most stunning smile. Eyes twinkling, she clapped her arms and mentioned, ‘That was so good!!’”
The duo turned “quick pals,” with Esten noting, “She was, after all, terribly proficient, infusing her larger-than-life character with all the guts, charisma, humor, whip-smart intelligence and flat-out magic that had been, alongside no matter troubles and ache she carried, part of her personal private palette.”
He concluded with a message to Panettiere, studying, “God bless you, Hayden. Relaxation In Peace and Gentle.”
Lots of Panettiere’s different “Nashville” co-stars have mourned her in touching statements, from Connie Britton to Sylvia Jefferies.
“This was Hayden. Bursting with brilliance, shining so vivid,” Britton, who performed Rayna Jaymes on the drama, advised her Instagram followers. “I’ve no phrases for this unhappy music. Simply heartbreak.”
As for Jefferies, who performed Panettiere’s character’s mother, she wrote that Panettiere “had an extremely vivid future forward of her, though her inside demons had been at occasions an excessive amount of to bear.”
In the meantime, Sam Palladio, who performed Gunnar Scott, penned a prolonged assertion about how “totally heartbroken” he’s over the “big loss.”
He wrote, “You had been beneficiant, clever past your years and lit up each room together with your star. It feels so extremely unhappy that you just’re not right here and that you just’d been by way of a lot turmoil in recent times. You didn’t deserve any of it.”
