Fame
Hayden Panettiere reconnected with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, about two weeks before her sudden death.
A source exclusively claimed to Page Six that Hickerson, 37, was with Panettiere — who died at a Greenville, South Carolina, Airbnb on Sunday at 36 — for about a week in Los Angeles before they made their way east.
“He was supposed to leave, but somehow, they ended up on a flight to South Carolina, where he is from,” our insider said.
As for the nature of the pair’s relationship, our informant noted that “things did not appear to be romantic” and cited Panettiere’s own comments to podcaster Jay Shetty just three months ago.
According to our source, “Brian would always find a way to work his way back into Hayden’s life as ‘a friend.’ “
Our insider added that the “Heroes” star’s inner circle was “always concerned” about her relationship with Hickerson, whom our informant branded “bad news” and “a real jerk.”
Reps for Hickerson and Panettiere did not respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
However, not everyone in Panettiere’s life knew that Hickerson was back in hers, as a separate source told us, “If Brian was back in her life then it was something she was hiding because she wasn’t speaking about it with many of her friends.”
Our second insider argued, “If you’ve gone through some dark times with people and spoken about it [publicly] then there can be shame if you get back together with that same person. So maybe that was why she hadn’t mentioned it to us.”
Panettiere and Hickerson’s tumultuous relationship — which was marked by multiple allegations of domestic violence, several arrests and even criminal pleas — began in 2018.
Hickerson was arrested in May 2019 in Hollywood and charged with felony domestic violence. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed four months later. Panettiere later described the incident as the beginning of a pattern of physical abuse.
LA prosecutors then alleged that Hickerson injured the “Remember the Titans” star during separate incidents in December 2019 and January 2020, claiming he used a garage floor and stairs in a manner capable of causing injury.
Hickerson was arrested again on Valentine’s Day 2020 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, after allegedly punching Panettiere in the face. The case was followed by additional allegations that he attempted to interfere with or intimidate a witness in the proceedings. He pleaded no contest to all charges. Panettiere has since described the Wyoming incident as a wake-up call.
Then in July 2020, LA prosecutors filed an eight-count case against Hickerson, including multiple felony counts of corporal injury, assault with a deadly weapon, battery and dissuading a witness. He initially pleaded not guilty, but in April 2021, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or cohabitant, while the remaining charges were dismissed.
Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of probation, domestic violence classes, restitution and a five-year protective order.
On Aug. 13, the judge overseeing the case denied Hickerson’s motions to expunge and reduce the charges to misdemeanors.
The duo’s last public sighting was as recently as March, when paparazzi caught them at an LA airport together. At the time, Panettiere was using crutches to walk, insisting she was dealing with pinched nerves in her lower back.
The “Nashville” star detailed the increasingly abusive nature of her relationship with Hickerson in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” which she released in May in tandem with a press tour for the book.
She explained on “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” that every time she “found the strength to get away from [her] abusers,” they would “always find their way back into [her] life.”
Panettiere — a former child star who was open about her struggles with anxiety, alcoholism, opioid addiction and postpartum depression — said Hickerson would become violent when under the influence.
Panettiere found herself in this “dizzying cycle” because being “alone” admittedly scared her more than the “tolerat[ing] abuse.”
Plus, she “desperately wanted to make [Hickerson] a better person.”
The actor, for his part, did not deny Panettiere’s specific allegations. Instead, he broadly confessed in a subsequent interview with TMZ that he was abusive toward her, struggled with addiction and regretted how he treated her.
Just before 2 p.m. on Sunday, cops and medical personnel responded to the Airbnb where Panettiere “had been temporarily staying” after receiving a call about a woman who was “unresponsive” and in apparent “cardiac arrest” following a suspected “overdose.”
Hickerson and his “very emotional” brother, Zach Hickerson, were present, according to the incident report, which also stated that Zach described Panettiere as his “brother’s girlfriend.” Brian then showed officers a “bag of medication” — whose exact names were redacted — the actress had allegedly been taking.
First responders “initiated advanced cardiac life support measures,” but their “resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful,” per the coroner’s office. Panettiere was pronounced dead just after 2:30 p.m., at which point Brian became “emotional.”
According to the autopsy report, “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.” However, the investigation into the cause and manner remains “active and ongoing” as the coroner awaits toxicology results.
Narcan — an emergency medication used to reverse an opioid overdose — was reportedly found inside the Airbnb where Panettiere died.
She is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whose father is her ex-fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.