Jennifer Love Hewitt recalls how the press knew her mother died before she did (original) (raw)

Jennifer Love Hewitt is celebrating a lot this holiday season. Her new book Inheriting Magic is dropping on Dec. 10, followed four days later by The Holiday Junkie on Lifetime, which Hewitt directed, executive produced, and stars in with her husband Brian Hallisay.

Both the book and The Holiday Junkie are personal projects for Hewitt because they are in memory of her late mother, Patricia Mae, who died from complications from cancer on June 12, 2012.

In a conversation with her 9-1-1 co-star Bryan Safi at a recent event for her book and the movie at Zibby’s Bookshop in Los Angeles, Hewitt revealed that the press knew her mother had officially passed away before she did.

Jennifer Love Hewitt.

“The part that I didn’t put in the book is that actually the press knew that my mom had passed before I did,” Hewitt said. She was flying home from the 52nd Monte Carlo TV film festival when her mom passed away. “The flight time with me getting back was so long. It was like a 10-and-a-half-hour flight, so by the time I arrived, everybody knew, and it was such a weird thing for me. But then later on, I was like, but everybody’s always known everything about my life kind of before. Even breakups, people have been like, ‘He was cheating on you already.’ Really, people? Like, why didn’t you tell me?”

It's been 12 years since her mother passed, but Hewitt is now ready to open up about the cherished memories she shared with the woman who raised her and why those memories are so powerful during the holiday season.

“If I had a broken heart or a bad day, she would put up Christmas lights because she believed that that sort of lifted the mood,” she said at the event. “If I had bad cramps, there were lights."

In The Holiday Junkie, Hewitt plays a woman facing her first Christmas without her mother and finds love with a man (Hallisay) who is carrying his own grief.

“I wanted a movie for people who were happy and for people who felt sad. I wanted both parties to be seen in the holidays because it is that way," Hewitt shared. "As much as I am a holiday junkie, I find Christmas really hard without my mom. I always have a moment, sometimes I have more than that. And I think that’s okay. It doesn’t mean that you’re not in the festive AF spirit, you just have this hole in your heart, and it happens.”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Hewitt also shared that The Holiday Junkie is dedicated to the departed loved ones of everyone on set. They had a tribute board of photos of lost loved ones related to the cast and crew to remind everyone why they were making the film.

"I really didn’t want it to feel like it was only my experience. I wanted it to be everyone’s. So it was really nice because the crew and everybody at the end were like, 'I felt like I really honored my dad,' or 'I felt like I really honored my grandma,' or 'I felt like they were here with us.’ It felt like it was a journey for everyone, and we all, I think, felt like we let that go when it was done, and it was beautiful that way."