Dove Cameron Says She Has ‘Major Phone Anxiety’ After Learning of Father’s Death by Phone Call

Dove Cameron has revealed that she struggles with “major phone anxiety” after learning of her father’s death through a phone call when she was a teenager.

The 30-year-old singer and actress spoke about the traumatic experience during the Wednesday, Feb. 4 episode of Call Her Daddy, hosted by Alex Cooper.

Cameron said she was just 15 years old when she found out that her father, Phil, had died by suicide. The news came only months after he had visited her in Los Angeles.

She recalled that earlier in the day, a family friend sent her an unusual message asking whether her mother was home. When Cameron said her mom was out, the friend told her to have her mother contact a family member as soon as possible.

“I just knew,” Cameron said. “It wasn’t a normal interaction. She had no reason to be talking to me.”

When her mother returned home, she called a family member who told them that Phil “is no longer with us.”

Cameron said she immediately had a panic attack after hearing the news. “It’s the most out-of-control feeling you can have,” she explained. She added that all three of the biggest losses in her life were delivered over phone calls, which she believes is the reason she now has severe anxiety around answering the phone.

“I ran out of the room,” she said. “I couldn’t breathe. I went into this, like, animal mode.”

She described the moment as pure survival instinct. “You are fight, flight, or freeze,” Cameron said. “You feel like you’re going to vomit your soul.”

The former Disney star, best known for her roles in Descendants and Schmigadoon!, has spoken openly about trauma and loss in recent years. In addition to her father, she has also lost two close friends.

In 2023, while discussing her debut album Alchemical Vol. 1, Cameron said she spent much of her early life using work as a coping mechanism.

“My friends and family have always had this sense of worry and stress about me,” she said. “I dove into work so hard at such a young age that I didn’t really build a life outside of my job.”

She explained that in her 20s, she was forced to confront the emotional issues she had ignored for years. Cameron described the process as “emotional spring-cleaning,” saying she had to revisit unresolved pain and finally address it.

“I had to go into the attic of all the stuff I hadn’t dealt with,” she said. “It was really, really good for me as a human being.”