Jennifer Love Hewitt remembers that the press knew her mother died before she did

Jennifer Love Hewitt is celebrating a lot this holiday season. Her new book Inherit magic falls on December 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 of 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 film at Zibby’s Bookshop in Los Angeles, Hewitt revealed that the press knew her mother had officially passed away before she did.

“The part that I didn’t write in the book is that the press actually knew my mother had passed before I did,” Hewitt said. She was flying home from the 52nd Monte Carlo TV Film Festival when her mother died. “The flight time for me to come back was so long. It was like a 10-and-a-half-hour flight, so when I arrived, everyone knew, and it was such a weird thing for me. But later, I was like that everyone has always known everything about my life before. Even brides, people have been like, “He already cheated on you.” Really, people? Like, why didn’t you tell me?”

It’s been 12 years since her mother died, 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 this holiday season.

“If I had a broken heart or a bad day, she would put up Christmas lights because she thought that kind of lifted the mood,” she said at the event. “If I had bad cramps, there was light.”

IN The holiday junkieHewitt plays a woman who faces her first Christmas without her mother and finds love with a man (Hallisay) who carries his own grief.

“I wanted a movie for people who were happy and for people who were feeling sad. I wanted both sides to be seen during the holidays, because that’s how it is,” Hewitt shared. “As much as I’m 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 you’re not in the festive AF spirit, you just have this hole in your heart and it happens.”

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Hewitt shared that too The holiday junkie is dedicated to the deceased loved ones of everyone on set. They had a tribute table with photos of lost loved ones related to the cast and crew to remind everyone why they made the film.

“I really didn’t want it to feel like it was just my experience. I wanted it to be everyone’s. So it was really nice because the crew and everyone at the end said, ‘I felt like I really honored my father,’ or ‘I felt that I really honored my grandmother,’ or ‘I felt that they were here with us.’ It felt like it was a journey for everyone, and we all, I think, felt like we let it go when it was done, and it was beautiful that way.”