Dove Cameron Recounts Childhood Trauma of Friend's Murder

Singer and actress Dove Cameron recently opened up about a deeply traumatic event from her childhood on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.

Cameron recounted how her childhood friend, Hayley, was murdered by her father when they were both nine years old. Cameron learned of the tragedy when she was home sick from school and overheard a distressing phone call detailing the events. She described the immense difficulty in processing such a harrowing experience at a young age.

The "Boyfriend" artist shared that the loss of her friend "fissured" her brain and fundamentally changed how she processes information. This profound impact led her parents to seek therapy for her at the time.

In a separate interview on "Armchair Expert" in April 2025, Cameron also discussed the impact of her father's suicide just before she began working on "Liv and Maddie." She explained how difficult it was to reconcile personal grief with professional demands as a young actress.