“We have lost everything, there is nothing left! »

“There is nothing left… only ashes where our laughter, our memories, our history lived. I feel like I’ve lost a part of my soul, like a part of me has gone with the flames. » Laeticia is devastated. Collapsed. Even in her worst nightmares, Johnny Hallyday’s widow had not imagined this terrifying vision: her house reduced to ashes. A life devastated by fire. Her daughter Joy, 16, also does not hide her despair on social networks. “Our beautiful little village of Palisades is gone. My home and my childhood are now gone. Our haven of peace. I don’t have the words. We are truly devastated by everything that is happening. […] I will forever cherish every moment spent with my family and friends in the house of happiness. » Laeticia and her daughters must once again face, united, a terrible ordeal. A new mourning…

When Laeticia Hallyday left her villa on December 14, she had no idea that it was the last time she closed the door to her Californian refuge, where she rebuilt after the death of her husband. husband, on December 5, 2017. She then flew to France with her daughters, Jade and Joy, to spend Christmas with family in the south of France, in particular with her paternal grandmother Elyette Boudou, Mamie Rock, 89 years old. Then Joy returns to Los Angeles for the New Year. Jade is due to follow a few days later. Laeticia plans to stay in Paris until January 15 for professional reasons.

But on Wednesday the 8th, their lives turned into tragedy. The day before, a fire broke out not far from Pacific Palisades. As happens regularly in the region, wooded and increasingly dry due to global warming. But this time, strong gusts of wind fanned and multiplied the outbreaks. Laeticia, who is in Paris, receives messages from her friends and neighbors to report fires in the neighborhood. Alarmed, she calls her domestic worker to find out a little more. She goes up to the terrace to take videos and sends them to him. Laeticia sees that flames are devouring the hills overlooking Pacific Palisades… but they still seem a good distance away. At that moment, she did not fear the worst. Then, she learned that an order to evacuate the area had been issued. Precautionary principle, it seems. She is far from imagining the tragedy to come. Joy is then underway. Laeticia, worried, calls the establishment to allow her daughter to go out. The teenager rushes into their house to retrieve their dog Cheyenne and takes refuge with Christina, a friend of Laeticia’s for twenty-five years. The fires are intensifying due, among other things, to the so-called “Santa Ana” winds – typical of Californian winters but particularly violent this season, with peaks recorded at 160 km/h – and the shortage of water. in fire hydrants and steep terrain which hinders firefighters.

Thanks to her local contacts and information, Laeticia follows the evolution of the situation live. And learns that his house is also burning. The nightmare. She receives the images. In shock, she has difficulty realizing the horror. “We lost everything… There’s nothing left. I saw our house reduced to ashes, helpless in the face of the flames which took everything away. This video haunts my heart »she confides on the networks. Thursday, Jade, a student at Otis College, a prestigious art and design university in Los Angeles, takes the plane to the United States as planned to join her sister. Laeticia flies away the next day and meets her daughters at her friend Christina’s house. A word of command is given; Jade and Joy must not see the house devastated. Laeticia wants to prepare them for the shock, to discover the disaster before them in order to find the right words to prepare them.

Only then will the three of them go to see the ruins. Face this catastrophe together, mourn their memories gone up in smoke. Saturday, Laeticia tries to get there. To collect oneself. She also hopes to recover an object, a souvenir, as a final witness to her life before being ravaged by the blaze. A friend serves as his driver, they try to get as close as possible to the disaster zone. But the authorities prevent them from doing so. The area is locked down for security reasons. Even the owners of the destroyed homes cannot get through. With a bruised heart, she turns around and promises to return as soon as she can. Sunday January 12, new attempt, new failure. She knows that only the steps that led to the house remain. A page is turning for her and her daughters. She has to face it.

Flash-back

Johnny and Laeticia Hallyday settled in Los Angeles in 2013. A desire of the idol of young people. Laeticia agrees. “He just wanted to live in a country where no one knew him, where he could raise his children, take them to school, do his shopping. It wasn’t my choice but I followed it out of love.”she explains in Gala. The couple then chose a luxurious 1,000 m2 villa in the chic and residential district of Pacific Palisades. They appreciate its atmosphere which reminds them so much of the south of France, where Laeticia has her roots, where Johnny owned a house in Saint-Tropez, La Lorada. And then there is the proximity of the Pacific Ocean and all its possibilities of elsewhere and infinity… There, the couple builds a peaceful life, almost out of sight. Their daughters are growing up and studying. Here, no one judges them. After Johnny’s death in December 2017, Laeticia decided to stay in LA. It is now her city.

Her daughters have their friends there, their landmarks. She cannot keep the villa, too big, too expensive to maintain… but wishes to stay in the United States as she had sworn to Johnny. “These are promises we made to each other, and I will keep these promisesshe confided. I try to live up to what he expected of me. » She chooses a pretty house, less spacious, which stretches over three floors, with a garden and swimming pool. A cocoon filled with photos and memories of Johnny, his cowboy hats, a motorcycle helmet, his gold records… Everything has now gone up in smoke.

“This house was our refuge in the chaos of grief, our anchor when everything seemed to be falling apart. Everything has disappeared… and with it, a part of my soul. The sorrow is endless »she wrote on Instagram. A trauma from which they and their daughters, just like the tens of thousands of victims of the fires, stars and anonymous, will have to recover. If it is still too early to look at the aftermath and the reconstruction, Laeticia Hallyday wants to be strong. “We are devastated, but together we will try to be reborn one day, even in the midst of these ruins. For now, there remains silence and ashes. But there will always be love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your messages. Thank you for your support. […] You are a light in this darkness. » A message of hope in the heart of desolation.

This article could be found in the Gala No. 1649, available on newsstands on January 16. To follow the news live, you can join WhatsApp thread Gala . The new issue of Gala is on newsstands from this Thursday, January 23, 2025. Happy reading!