Disney Channel Star Dove Cameron Mourns Father’s Death With Emotional Post

Descendants star Dove Cameron paid tribute to her late father in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Saturday. Cameron’s father, Philip Alan Hosterman, took his own life when she was 15 years old. The 23-year-old Seattle-born actress has been open about the impact of his death, even revealing she changed her name legally as a tribute to him.

On Saturday, Cameron shared a photo of herself standing outside a restaurant in Los Angeles, which she said was her father’s favorite.

“He used to send me coffee stained postcards from here when I was a little girl that would live on our family fridge for months and years ‘hello from LA.’ Now, I’ve lived in LA for 9 years, and I’ve never been here, but somehow ended up here the other night, on accident,” Cameron wrote. “I tried to order what he used to order, in an effort to share an experience with him for the first time in 8 years.”

Cameron revealed that she has “very few reminders in my life left of him, physical proof that he was ever here to begin with,” so it was important to finally visit this cafe.

“It’s almost like my life now, and my life with him, are two different lives, and I guess, for the most part, I have kept it that way on purpose. Not because I prefer it, or I want to forget, but mostly because it is too painful to look at all the time,” Cameron continued. “I was going to try to spin this into something happy, something about healing and remembering those lost, because that’s what i think we would all prefer, and that’s what I’ve always done. It’s more comfortable, and I would feel less naked. but recently, i don’t have the energy to do that in my life anymore. and hiding the sad parts is doing a disservice to myself, and the quality of my life. It’s not happy. It’s really sad, everyday. and so am I, most days, if I’m honest. and that’s ok, too.”

Cameron was born Chloe Celeste Hosterman, but she changed her first name to “Dove” as a tribute to her father. In 2017, she told fans that her father called her “Dove.”

“My father always called me dove. He took his own life when I was 15, I didn’t get to say goodbye, so I changed it in honor of him,” she tweeted at the time.

Cameron shot to fame on Disney Channel‘s Liv and Maddie before she was cast as Mal in the network’s Descendants movies. She is now focusing on her music career, recently releasing the songs “Waste” and “Bloodshot” as she hopes to move away from the “Disney Channel star” label.

“I happen to look quite clean, and I happen to not be interested in things that we would typically call ‘inappropriate,’ like things that might be bad for the brand,” Cameron recently told Rolling Stone. “I just happened to be one of those people that wasn’t naturally inclined to behave like that.”

Cameron is now dating her Descendants co-star Thomas Doherty.

“She is just the most incredible person I’ve ever met,” he told Entertainment Tonight of Cameron. “I think people see her as so talented — because obviously that’s her job, to perform and all the rest of it — but she’s the most compassionate and the most patient and the most genuine, loving person I’ve ever met. And so kind and so generous. She’s amazing. She really is.”

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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