Hayden Panettiere glowed in a plunging peach gown as she made a triumphant return to the red carpet at the Critics’ Choice Awards Sponsored by Heineken and Jose Cuervo on Sunday night, which were held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.
It was one of the first public events attended by the Nashville star since she admitted herself to a treatment facility three months ago, while suffering from postpartum depression.
And Hayden, whose daughter Kaya turned one last month, opened up about how she felt ‘so proud’ to be inspiring other sufferers to seek help.
‘I’ve gotten an incredible amount of support and I was actually really surprised cause I feel like I grew up in this industry that, in my mind, was very judgmental,’ the former child star told Entertainment Tonight.
‘I didn’t even look at social media,’ she said, adding that she used to feel as if people were ‘waiting’ for her to fail.
‘Then, when I looked, people were like, “Oh my gosh, good for you,” and I am so proud to be a spokesperson and a woman that people can look to and to know that they’re not alone and they’re not weak if they go and they seek help.’
Hayden took a leave of absence from filming Nashville when she sought treatment, but has now returned to work and will be back on screens in April.
She told ET about what it was like making the transition back into active production.
‘To be honest it was kind of a rocky start for me and especially emotionally,’ she shared.
‘The first scene that I did the other day when I saw certain people that I haven’t seen in a while and I felt really comfortable – I just lost it and I couldn’t keep it together. So, it held us up for a second but we got it at the end.’
