As one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars of the 1990s, Jennifer Love Hewitt was poised to become a celebrated actor with respectable adult performances for decades to come.
But in 2015, the star of the hit TV show Ghost Whisperer, the “it girl” who tabloids loved, ghosted Hollywood, leaving fans speculating on the reason behind her disappearance.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Jennifer Love Hewitt was one of the biggest teen stars of the nineties. I mean, who didn’t fall for Jennifer Love’s Hewitt?
According to me, she possessed the most captivating smile, and there was something truly heartwarming and genuine about her presence.
After appearing in several TV commercials, Hewitt, now 44, had her big break when she was only 10 with the Disney Channel’s Kids Incorporated (1989 to 1991).
The show, about young people who perform in a rock band, served as a launching pad for many celebrities, like Fergie of the Grammy-winning band Black Eyed Peas, Mario Lopez, of Saved by the Bell and Access Hollywood, And Eric Balfour who had starring roles in 24 and Haven.
Of course, also Hewitt, who was later cast as a regular on the popular TV drama Party of Five, where she starred with an ensemble cast of Scott Wolf, Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell, and Lacy Chabert.
When Party of Five ended after six seasons in 1999, Hewitt then went on to star in touchstone films of the 1990s like the teen horror franchise I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997 and 1998) and the teen drama Can’t Hardly Wait (1998).
In 2001, Hewitt starred as the daughter of Sigourney Weaver’s character in the film Heartbreakers, an appearance that Roger Ebert critiqued in his review as Hewitt spending “the entire film with her treasures on display, maybe as product placement for the Wonderbra.”
Hewitt, who’s had a turbulent relationship with the media since she started filling out as a woman, said in a 2018 interview with LA Times, “It wasn’t actually until later, in the time when I took the step back, that I went “ugh.” It’s the worst–that’s not what I want to be remembered for.” She continued, “I don’t want my kid to Google me one day and see ‘She looks terrible’ or ‘She has big boobs and she’s hot.’ I don’t want that to be who I am.”
In 2002, she co-starred with Jackie Chan in the spy parody Tuxedo, where she was mostly covered up, oftentimes wearing the superpower-holding tuxedo.
Returning to TV in 2005, she played Melinda Gordon, a woman who communicates with the dead, in Ghost Whisperer.
Though the show failed to earn the respect of critics, it still had a loyal following. Hewitt said she was crushed when Ghost Whisperer was abruptly canceled in 2010, leaving viewers hanging.
“For me, it was a total shock… I thought our next season probably would be the last, just because the show had been on for a really long time,” she said. “It’s hard to come up with new things that will keep people intrigued, but I never thought in a million years that was going to have been our last season.”
In 2012, Hewitt earned her first Golden Globe nomination for her starring role in the Client List, where she plays a single mother, who makes a living as an erotic masseuse to support her children.
While filming Client List, Hewitt, also a singer, met her first and only husband, Brian Hallisay, who in the show plays the deadbeat dad to her on-screen children.
In real life, Hallisay is a great husband and father of three. The two married in 2013 and had their first daughter, Autumn, days after they wed. The pair then had Atticus in 2015, and Aiden in 2021.
Having worked tirelessly since she was a child, Hewitt slipped away from the spotlight in 2015, explaining that she needed time to be a wife and mother.
“There was a lot going on in my own life that just felt like I needed some space and some time to kind of be. I’ve really enjoyed the break, and I feel like now, the last few months, having gone back into acting, it’s really done a beautiful thing for me in that it’s made everything that I do in my acting/entertainment life not less important but less like, ‘It’s everything all the time,’ like it used to be.”
In her time away, Hewitt was also trying to heal from the death of her mother, who was 67 when she died of cancer in 2012, a loss she says still “feels very raw.”
During this challenging period in her life, Jennifer made the decision to leave Twitter as well. For some reason, she faced a great deal of hate on the platform.
Being pregnant, she couldn’t handle all the negativity and hostility, so she chose to step away from Twitter, which caused quite a stir.
”Unfortunately with all the negativity people choose to send on twitter as well as threats to their own well being I’m sad to say Twitter is no longer for me,” Jennifer wrote in 2013.
Since starting her career in 1989, Jennifer Love Hewitt has embarked on an incredible transformation journey, both physically and emotionally.
Unfortunately, she has also experienced the downsides of Hollywood, celebrity status, and objectification by tabloids. Some online media outlets went too far and made some really derogatory and harsh comments when bikini photos of Jennifer were leaked, highlighting her weight gain. Some of these outlets commented on her bikini pictures, saying things like “I know what you ate last summer.”
Jennifer could handle the tough comments, but she worried about how the pictures and headlines were impacting other girls struggling with their body image.
In a powerful response, she directed a message to all the ”girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist” and instructed them to “put on a bikini, put it on, and stay strong”.
The Ghost Whisperer star encouraged them to proudly wear a bikini, stay strong, and embrace themselves as they are. Jennifer has gone through several weight journeys, sought the help of personal trainers, and strives to live a healthy lifestyle.
Today, she “never looks at the scale” and she doesn’t count calories. The 90’s star looks healthier than ever and remains active on social media and regularly shares updates about herself on her Instagram and Facebook accounts.
In 2020, following a three-year hiatus, Hewitt returned to work with “renewed energy and vigor,” appearing in the TV series 9-1-1, that follows the lives of first responders.
Starring as Maddie Buckley, a former nurse turned 911 operator, the show–now in its eighth season–gave Hewitt a platform to develop her profile, from one where she was earlier typecast as a symbol, to a mature, seasoned actor.
“I also feel like I have new things to pull from as an actress that I didn’t have before. I think it’s so odd as actors that we, especially kid actors, which I was, we’re expected to pull from all these life experiences that so many of us haven’t had,” Hewitt told the LA Times. “I feel like I acted for a lot of years from my heart, but not really, truly understanding some of the things that I understand now.”
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 25 years since we fell in love with Jennifer Love Hewitt’s infectious smile on Party of Five!
As the mother of three, it’s great she’s found the balance between work and family life, and we look forward to seeing her in even more mature roles in the future!
My Daughter and Son-in-Law Died 2 Years Ago – Then, One Day, My Grandkids Shouted, ‘Grandma, Look, That’s Our Mom and Dad!’
A woman sitting in her house | Source: Midjourney
That summer morning in my kitchen, staring at an anonymous letter, I felt something entirely different. I think it was hope mixed with a little bit of terror.
My hands trembled as I read those five words again, “They’re not really gone.”
The crisp white paper felt like it was burning my fingers. I thought I’d been managing my grief, trying to create a stable life for my grandkids, Andy and Peter, after losing my daughter, Monica, and her husband, Stephen. But this note made me realize how wrong I was.
Two brothers playing with toys | Source: Pexels
They got into an accident two years ago. I still remember how Andy and Peter kept asking me where their parents were and when they’d return.
It took me so many months to make them understand their mom and dad would never return. It broke my heart as I told them they’d have to manage things on their own now, and that I’d be there for them whenever they needed their parents.
After all the hard work I’d put in, I received this anonymous letter that claimed Monica and Stephan were still alive.
An envelope | Source: Pexels
“They’re… not really gone?” I whispered to myself, sinking into my kitchen chair. “What kind of sick game is this?”
I had crumpled the paper and was about to throw it away when my phone buzzed.
It was my credit card company, alerting me to a charge on Monica’s old card. The one I’d kept active just to hold onto a piece of her.
“How is that even possible?” I whispered. “I’ve had this card for two years. How can someone use it when it’s been sitting in the drawer?”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
I immediately called the bank’s customer support helpline.
“Hello, this is Billy speaking. How may I help you?” the customer service representative answered.
“Hi. I, uh, wanted to verify this recent transaction on my daughter’s card,” I said.
“Of course. May I have the first six and last four digits of the card number and your relationship to the account holder?” Billy asked.
I gave him the details, explaining, “I’m her mother. She… passed away two years ago, and I’ve been managing her remaining accounts.”
An older woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
There was a pause on the line, and then Billy spoke carefully. “I’m very sorry to hear that, ma’am. I don’t see a transaction on this card. The one you’re talking about has been made using a virtual card linked to the account.”
“A virtual card?” I asked, frowning. “But I never linked one to this account. How can a virtual card be active when I have the physical card here?”
“Virtual cards are separate from the physical card, so they can continue to function independently unless deactivated. Would you like me to cancel the virtual card for you?” Billy asked gently.
A customer care representative | Source: Pexels
“No, no,” I managed to speak. I didn’t want to cancel the card thinking Monica must’ve activated it when she was alive. “Please leave it active. Could you tell me when the virtual card was created?”
There was a pause as he checked. “It was activated a week before the date you mentioned your daughter passed.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. “Thank you, Billy. That’ll be all for now.”
Then, I called my closest friend Ella. I told her about the strange letter and the transaction on Monica’s card.
An older woman using her phone | Source: Pexels
“That’s impossible,” Ella gasped. “Could it be a mistake?”
“It’s like someone wants me to believe Monica and Stephan are out there somewhere, just hiding. But why would they… why would anyone do that?”
The charge wasn’t large. It was just $23.50 at a local coffee shop. Part of me wanted to visit the shop and find out more about the transaction, but part of me was afraid I’d find out something I wasn’t supposed to know.
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
I thought I’d look into this matter on the weekend, but what happened on Saturday turned my world upside down.
Andy and Peter wanted to go to the beach on Saturday, so I took them there. Ella had agreed to meet us there to help me look after the kids.
The ocean breeze carried the salt spray as the children splashed in the shallow waves, their laughter echoing across the sand. It was the first time in ages I’d heard them so carefree.
A kid standing near a sand castle | Source: Pexels
Ella lounged on her beach towel beside me, both of us watching the kids play.
I was showing her the anonymous letter when I heard Andy shout.
“Grandma, look!” he grabbed Peter’s hand, pointing toward the beachfront café. “That’s our mom and dad!”
My heart stopped. There, barely thirty feet away, sat a woman with Monica’s dyed hair and graceful posture, leaning toward a man who could easily ihave been Stephan’s twin.
They were sharing a plate of fresh fruit.
A plate of sliced fruits | Source: Pexels
“Please, watch them for a bit,” I said to Ella, urgency making my voice crack. She agreed without question, though concern filled her eyes.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I told the boys. “You can sunbathe here. Stay close to Ella, okay?”
The kids nodded and I turned toward the couple in the café.
My heart skipped a beat as they stood and walked down a narrow path lined with sea oats and wild roses. My feet moved of their own accord, following at a distance.
An older woman’s shoes | Source: Midjourney
They walked close together, whispering, and occasionally laughing. The woman tucked her hair behind her ear exactly like Monica always had. The man had Stephan’s slight limp from his college football injury.
Then I heard them talk.
“It’s risky, but we had no choice, Emily,” the man said.
Emily? I thought. Why is he calling her Emily?
They turned down a shell-lined path toward a cottage covered in flowering grapevines.
“I know,” the woman sighed. “But I miss them… especially the boys.”
A woman standing outdoors | Source: Pexels
I gripped the wooden fence surrounding the cottage, my knuckles white.
It is you, I thought. But why… why would you do this?
Once they went inside the cottage, I pulled out my phone and dialed 911. The dispatcher listened patiently as I explained the impossible situation.
I stayed by the fence and listened for more proof. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Finally, gathering every ounce of courage I possessed, I approached the cottage door and rang the doorbell.
For a moment, there was silence, then footsteps approached.
A doorknob | Source: Pexels
The door swung open, and there stood my daughter. Her face drained of color as she recognized me.
“Mom?” she gasped. “What… how did you find us?”
Before I could respond, Stephan appeared behind her. Then, the sound of approaching sirens filled the air.
“How could you?” My voice trembled with rage and grief. “How could you leave your own children behind? Do you have any idea what you put us through?”
The police cars pulled up, and two officers approached quickly but cautiously.
A police car | Source: Pexels
“I think we’ll need to ask some questions,” one said, looking between us. “This… this is not something we see every day.”
Monica and Stephan, who had changed their names to Emily and Anthony, spilled out their story in bits and pieces.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Monica said, her voice wavering. “We were… we were drowning, you know? The debts, the loan sharks… they kept coming, demanding more. We tried everything, but it just got worse.”
A woman talking to her mother | Source: Midjourney
Stephan sighed. “They didn’t just want money. They were threatening us, and we didn’t want to drag the kids into the mess we created.”
Monica continued, tears trickling down her cheeks. “We thought if we left, we’d be giving the kids a better, more stable life. We thought they’d be better off without us. Leaving them behind was the hardest thing we ever did.”
They confessed that they had staged the accident to look like they’d fallen off a cliff into the river, hoping the police would soon stop searching and they’d be presumed dead.
A man standing in a house | Source: Midjourney
They explained how they moved to another town to start fresh and had even changed their names.
“But I couldn’t stop thinking about my babies,” Monica admitted. “I needed to see them, so we rented this cottage for a week, just to be close to them.”
My heart broke as I listened to their story, but anger simmered beneath my sympathy. I couldn’t help but believe there had to be a better way to deal with the loan sharks.
An older woman | Source: Midjourney
Once they confessed everything, I texted Ella our location, and soon her car pulled up with Andy and Peter. The children burst out, and their faces lit up with joy as they recognized their parents.
“Mom! Dad!” they shouted, running toward their parents. “You’re here! We knew you’d come back!”
Monica looked at them and tears welled up in her eyes. She was meeting her kids after two years.
A worried woman | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, my sweet boys… I missed you so much. I’m so sorry,” she said, hugging them.
I watched the scene unfold, whispering to myself, “But at what cost, Monica? What have you done?”
The police allowed the brief reunion before pulling Monica and Stephen aside. The senior officer turned to me with sympathy in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but they could face some serious charges here. They’ve broken a lot of laws.”
“And my grandchildren?” I asked, watching Andy and Peter’s confused faces as their parents were separated from them again. “How do I explain any of this to them? They’re just kids.”
A worried older woman | Source: Midjourney
“That’s something you’ll have to decide,” he said gently. “But the truth is bound to come out eventually.”
Later that night, after tucking the children into bed, I sat alone in my living room. The anonymous letter lay on the coffee table before me, its message now holding a different kind of weight.
I picked it up, reading those five words one more time, “They’re not really gone.”
I still didn’t know who had sent it, but they were right.
A woman reading a letter | Source: Midjourney
Monica and Stephan weren’t gone. They’d chosen to leave. And somehow, that felt worse than knowing they weren’t alive.
“I don’t know if I can protect the kids from the sadness,” I whispered to the quiet room, “but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”
Now, I sometimes feel I shouldn’t have called the cops. Part of me thinks I could’ve let my daughter live the life she wanted, but part of me wanted her to realize what she did was wrong.
Do you think I did the right thing by calling the cops? What would you have done if you were in my place?
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: While Claire is dropping her kids off at summer camp, she gets a devastating phone call. Her 67-year-old mother, an Alzheimer’s patient, is missing. After three days of looking for Edith, police officers bring her home, and only then does the old woman reveal a horrible truth about Claire’s husband.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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