Hayden Panettiere's ex made rare comments on their relationship in interview before star's tragic death
The ex partner of actor Hayden Panettiere had spoken about the relationship he had with her only months before her death.
Panettiere died on August 16 at the age of just 36, and a subsequent police report confirmed that there were 'no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death'.
Her father Skip Panettiere released a statement to ABC News on August 16 confirm the tragic news, saying: "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.
"She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her -- and to the millions who watched her onscreen."
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Panettiere was known for her roles in musical drama Nashville, Heroes, and the horror franchise Scream.
Three months before she died, her ex boyfriend Brian Hickerson had spoken about their relationship, which had started in 2018 and been on and off, HELLO! reports.
Speaking to TMZ back in May, he said: "Hayden Panettiere is the sweetest thing in the world.
"It's not about who you spend Saturday night with, it's who you spend all day Sunday with and Hayden Panettiere's a Sunday girl."
When he was questioned about whether it was better for them to not be together, he said: "I think that Hayden is one of the most talented people I've ever met in my life and I would be an idiot not to walk away from her and let her flourish in her career."
He added: "We probably wouldn't be good together. I'd like to see what she's going to do with the next like 30 years of her career. She'll always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope same for her."
In May 2019 Hickerson was arrested following an alleged altercation, and would go on to plead not guilty to one count of felony domestic violence, with this case eventually dismissed.
He would be arrested again in February 2020 for domestic battery following an incident in which he had allegedly punched Panettiere, and Panettiere sought a restraining order following this.
Speaking at the time, Panettiere said: "I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve."
Hickerson would go on to plead no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in April 2021, and was sentenced to 45 days in a county jail, serving 33 of them and four years of probation.
In addition this, he was ordered to pay a $500 fine and attend 52 classes on domestic violence.
A judge would go on block an appeal that Hickerson lodged to have the charges reduces from felonies to misdemeanours and be wiped from his record, with court documentes indicating that the ruling was made on August 13, just three days before Panettiere died.
In her final social media post, Panettiere had shared a picture of herself with her friend Randall Slavin, captioning the post: "Good times and good friends @randallslavin."
A timeline of Hayden Panettiere’s troubled Hollywood career
August 1989
Hayden Panettiere is born to firefighter Skip Panettiere and Lesley Vogel, who would go on to be Hayden’s manager.
1990
Panettiere appears in a commercial at 11 months old, later landing recurring roles in soap operas as a child actor.
2004/2005
Aged 15, Panettiere said someone on her team started offering her ‘happy pills’. She later tells People: “They were to make me peppy during interviews.
"I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”
2006
Aged 17, Panettiere lands one of the defining roles of her career as Claire Bennett in Heroes.
2007-2009
Panettiere later reveals several disturbing incidents that happened during this period in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.
Aged 18, she claims she was led onto a yacht by ‘somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector’ and placed into bed next to an ‘undressed man who was very famous’.
In 2008, she alleged a network executive kissed her on the lips at a party.
Aged 19, she said a ‘well-respected, award-winning actor’ tricked her into looking at his testicles through an unzipped fly.
In 2007, she also starts dating Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia - she is 18 and he is 30. They split in 2009.
2009
Panettiere starts dating Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
Meanwhile, her father Skip is handed two years of informal probation after pleading ‘no contest’ to spousal battery.
2013
Panettiere and Klitschko get engaged.
December 2014
Panettiere and Klitschko’s daughter Kaya is born. Panettiere endures an incredibly difficult pregnancy, hemorrhaging during her c-section and being forced to undergo a three-hour surgery.
2015
Panettiere begins suffering severe post-partum depression. She later tells Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast: “I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. I wasn't connecting with [Kaya] the way I should be.”
She uses alcohol to manage her mental health struggles and enters treatment when Kaya is four months old.
She later says she became dependent on medication to sleep, and then turned to drinking vodka.
2018
Klitschko presents Panettiere with custody papers asking for full custody of Kaya. After initially fighting back, she eventually accepts and Kaya goes to live with Klitschko in Ukraine.
She writes in her memoir: “Not being under the same roof with her every day has been the most gut-wrenching experience of my life”
Meanwhile, her long-running role in TV show Nashville comes to an end and she doesn’t have any more TV or film roles for five years.
In the same year, she starts dating actor Brian Hickerson.
2020
Panettiere spends an eight month stint in rehab.
She experiences brutal alcohol withdrawal symptoms including insomnia and intense headaches.
Meanwhile, her now-ex Hickerson is charged with felony assault.
2021
Hickerson pleads no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent and is sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years probation.
2023
Panettiere returns to acting, reprising her role as Kirby Reed in Scream VI.
In the same year, her brother Jansen dies aged 28 from an enlarged heart.
May 2026
Panettiere releases her memoir in which she makes disturbing allegations against film stars and industry execs from when she was a teenager.
She also opens up on her experience of postpartum depression and comes out as bisexual.
August 2026
Panettiere tragically dies. Police say: “The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.”
Topics: US News, Celebrity, Hayden Panettiere
Kit Roberts