Ruby Rose has spoken about her five-year friendship with Hayden Panettiere, who died in South Carolina on 16 August aged 36, describing the actress as her “best friend”.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 28-year-old said the pair spoke every day during their friendship. Rose became emotional as she recalled how they first met.
“I saw her, she saw me, and I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, no.’ And then she ran up anyway and was like, ‘Hey, I’m Hayden. Can we go talk somewhere? We’ve got a lot in common.’ I just laughed,” she said.
Rose said she had not expected them to become close because she had few celebrity friends and had not had a positive experience in the entertainment industry.
After talking, the pair found they had “everything in common”, Rose said, adding that they shared “five years of friendship, texting every day and checking in on each other.”
“Hayden, all that she ever wanted was to have her story told, her way, on her terms,” Rose added.
Panettiere, known for her role in Heroes, is due to be remembered at a memorial service in Malibu. Her mother, Lesley Vogel, and on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson were reportedly not invited to the event.
