Bethany Joy Lenz gets emotional remembering Hayden Panettiere

Following Hayden Panettiere’s untimely passing at the age of 36, Bethany Joy Lenz is commemorating her.

The One Tree Hill actress paid a heartfelt homage to the late Hayden on her Instagram account on Monday.

Bethany opened the long note, saying, “There is nothing that posting pictures on the internet can do. I avoid it usually in moments like this. But I’m here with my head in my hands and I don’t know what else to do aside from praying for her soul, which I have done and will continue.”

She went on to write, “I’m crushed. I knew the wild little blonde. Was she nine? Ten? I was eighteen. She ran through the Screen Gems studio hallways at 222 E44th St., laughing and playing games in between blocking and camera rehearsals. Long, unruly curls trailing behind her.”

“She knew her lines and everyone else’s. Her intelligence was astonishing. She understood scenes and nuance and human struggle like no child I’d ever seen on camera,” Bethany added, continuing, “And she’d sit with you for a great conversation, then giggle and go play. We’d connect on and off over the years, like the cousin at the family reunion who got famous and life moved her away — but I always felt such joy seeing her when we were lucky enough to cross paths. We’d make a pact to talk soon. Lunch. Dinner. Somewhere we could curl up into a corner — but we never quite made it happen. I mostly stayed up to date through mutual friends.”

Reflecting on the situation, the musician said, “I don’t understand how this is real. Everything seemed to be turning around. She was coming BACK to life, wasn’t she?” She then added, “It’s too young and there’s still so much more life. And her daughter… Hayden, you are surrounded by love. I’m sorry for every moment I didn’t reach out or check in. This can’t be real.”

The Five Star Christmas star concluded the touching homage by writing, “These are moments of how I knew you, in glimpses over 27 years. I don’t know how to process this. I am praying for you to know the peace of God now and always.”