Hayden Panettiere Embraces Bisexuality After Hardships

She shot to fame as a child star in the early 2000s.

But behind the spotlight, Hayden Panettiere has had a life that has been anything but simple over the years.

Now 36, the actress has spoken about her battles with addiction, postpartum and surviving an abusive relationship.

On Wednesday, she also revealed she is bisexual after years of feeling pressured to hide that part of herself.

The former Nashville star admitted she spent much of her life trying to appear 'perfect' to avoid public scrutiny.

As she enters this new chapter of her life, the Daily Mail takes a look at the painful experiences and personal struggles that have shaped her journey.

Hayden was already a big name in showbiz at 11-years-old after her role in Remember the Titans.

By the time she was 15, the actress told People that someone on her team began giving her 'happy pills' so that she would be '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,' she told the outlet. 

By the time she was 16 years old, she was drinking and taking opioids regularly - whenever she wasn't on set filming for Heroes.

'As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn't live without,' she shared, revealing that her addiction got worse as she filmed Nashville.

At 18, she  

Their romance was short-lived and they went their separate ways with a source reporting that there was a 'lifestyle conflict'  

When she was 19, she began a relationship with professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, then 33, in 2009.

The pair dated on and off for nine years, and even got engaged in 2013 before welcoming a daughter called Kaya in 2014.

The following year, the actress revealed she suffered from postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter.

During an apperance on Live! with Kelly and Michael, she said: 'It's something a lot of women experience. When [you're told] about postpartum depression you think it's 'I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child.' 

I've never, ever had those feelings.

'Some women do. But you don't realise how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. 

'It's something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they're not alone, and that it does heal.'

In 2016, she was seen without her engagement ring in New York when rumours began to swirl that she had split from Wladimir.

But she was quick to shut them down, posting a photo of the couple with their then-18-month-old daughter. 

'Missing rings don't mean the end of relationships,' she wrote on Instagram. 'Blessed to be with my beautiful family.'

However, in August 2018, it was confirmed that the pair ended their relationship, though they remained on good terms.

'There are a lot of changes going on in her life,' Hayden's mother told RadarOnline.

'She needs to take a little bit of a break and make some decisions on her own of what she wants to do.'

It was during this time that Hayden hit rock bottom after filming for Nashville wrapped up and decided to take a break from acting.

She sent her seven-year-old daughter, Kaya, to live with her father in Ukraine after signing over custody amid her severe addiction and depression.

Hayden was eventually hospitalised for jaundice and told by doctors that her 'liver was going to give out.'

Eventually, she made the decision to go to rehab for eight months.

After her relationship ended with Wladimir, she then began dating Brian Hickerson, after reportedly meeting through mutual friends.  

But in May 2019, Brian was arrested for Domestic Violence after an altercation at the couple's home.

Things got ugly between the pair after they came home following a night of drinking in Hollywood and got into a blow-up fight, according to insiders who spoke to TMZ.

Police visited the residence around 2am, when they noticed 'redness and marks' on the Nashville actress' body.

After determining there was indeed a fight, authorities took Hickerson into custody. 

Brian, an aspiring actor, was booked on felony domestic violence and was out of $50k bond.

Hayden's mother expressed her distress over the situation while speaking to Radar.com after the incident made news.

'I'm in shock,' she said, before mentioning Brian's history of violence.

'I knew he had an incident with his father and he has a tendency to do that [physical violence]. Never had I thought it would be against Hayden or I would have addressed it sooner. I have addressed many things,' the actress' mother continued.

Brian was involved in another domestic dispute with his father David the year before. Hayden was present during the time.

Police reports from the incident said cops were greeted by an apparent 'drunk and frantic' Hayden when they responded to a call for assault and battery at a private residence in South Carolina in October 2018.

The incident intensified Hayden's family and friends' concern for the star, who was reportedly already concerned about the dynamic between her and Hickerson.

Back in November, a source told Us Weekly that the the couple party a lot together and it's not a healthy situation, but none of the people close to her really know what to do. She doesn't listen to anyone.'

'They are deeply concerned,' another source close to Hayden told Radar Online.

Speaking of her parents and pals, the source continued: 'They do not approve. They are hoping that this is something that she is going to evolve from.'

Brian was charged with domestic violence in May of 2019, with Hayden as the charges were dropped.

The couple split after a domestic violence incident in February 2020, and five months later, Brian was charged with eight counts of domestic violence and assault.  

Brian was in jail for 13 days in connection with the arrest.

After his arrest, Hayden put out a statement saying she hoped she could serve as an example for others in a similar situation.

'I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me in the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,' she said at the time. 

'I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.'

She later gave further insight into their relationship as she spoke in a joint interview with Good Morning America and People.

Of her past relationship with Brian, the actress told People she was 'trying to live in a place of forgiveness.'

She said her time with her ex marked 'a very dark and complicated time in [her] life,' adding, 'a lot of women go through what I went through, and I want people to know it's OK to ask for help.'

Hayden said she was 'trying to live in a place of understanding' in regards to her history with Brian and the multiple domestic violence incidents he was charged with during their relationship.

'I think [Brian] has done his time and was willing to get help. I think about the things I have done in my life that people forgave me for,' she told People. 'Making amends is a really important thing that you learn in treatment. And it gives you a lot of inner peace.'

Following the interview, the pair were seen in LA, but Brian confirmed that they are 'just friends' and 'absolutely not' together anymore.

When asked about her interview on their relationship, Brian said: 'I thought she did a great job.' 

He said he remains supportive of his ex, adding: 'She's great - I'm excited to see the next opportunities for her.'

Brian said he believes Hayden's career will thrive with future projects, adding: 'I think so, I think everybody would like to see it ... she's out there man, I mean, you know, Scream 6.'

In 2023, Hayden was hit with more bad news when her brother Jansen died unexpectedly at the age of 28.

Days after learning of her only sibling's death, the actress recalled how she felt like she had lost 'half my soul'.

She told PEOPLE: 'When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul... I will always be heartbroken about [him], I will never be able to get over it. 

'No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.'

Later that year, Hayden returned to acting, reprising her role as Kirby Reed in the sixth instalment of the slasher franchise Scream VI.

She went on to star in Amber Alert and Sleepwalker, also serving as an executive producer for the thriller. 

Most recently, Hayden has come out as bisexual ahead of the release of her forthcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

The actress also revealed that she began dating women 'at a very young age', despite only ever publicly dating men.

The Equal Means Equal activist has also dated retired NFL wide receiver Scotty McKnight, Welsh TV presenter Steve Jones, singer Jesse McCartney, The Hills alum Stephen Colletti, and the late Pink Taco founder Harry Morton. 

'It's sad that I had to wait till I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?' the Nashville alum told Us Weekly on Wednesday.

'I've chosen to share it with the world, I'm comfortable saying I'm bisexual. I'm comfortable to confidently say that, yes, I am bisexual. I said it!'

Despite having little privacy due to 'paparazzi always outside waiting for me,' Panettiere still managed to secretly date women, whom she preferred to men from 'a very, very young age.'

'[I was] much more into women,' the two-time Golden Globe nominee said.

'But, yeah, I have explored it, but I don't think I ever had the courage, because I hadn't shared this with anybody.

'I didn't really have the courage to throw myself fully, emotionally into it, because then if I did fall in love, that wasn't something that I wanted to ever have to hide. I didn't feel confident enough, and I was too afraid to really let that part of me explore that part of me.'

Hayden worried it would look like she was 'jumping on the bandwagon' during a 'period of time, where it felt like people coming out, especially women coming out, and saying that they were bisexual, or liked girls, was a fad.'

The Grammy-nominated narrator decided to be 'completely brutally honest' about her sexuality during the two years she spent writing her 320-page memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which Grand Central Publishing will release on May 19.