{"id":258249,"date":"2026-08-18T22:40:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T22:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/18\/inside-hayden-panettieres-on-off-relationship-with-brian-hickerson-he-couldnt-leave-her-alone\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T22:40:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T22:40:33","slug":"inside-hayden-panettieres-on-off-relationship-with-brian-hickerson-he-couldnt-leave-her-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/18\/inside-hayden-panettieres-on-off-relationship-with-brian-hickerson-he-couldnt-leave-her-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Hayden Panettiere\u2019s On-Off Relationship With Brian Hickerson: He \u2018Couldn\u2019t Leave Her Alone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

In the years after they broke up, Hayden Panettiere<\/span><\/a><\/strong>\u2019s relationship with Brian Hickerson<\/strong> was still complicated even at the time of her tragic death<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHayden and Brian have been on and off for years, but have pretty much always remained in contact,\u201d a source exclusively shares with Us<\/i> of the pair\u2019s history prior to her shocking death on Sunday, August 16. She was 36.<\/p>\n

\u201cHayden had a very hard time cutting Brian out of her life,\u201d the source adds. \u201cShe did it for short periods, but they would eventually reconnect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panettiere \u2014 who shared daughter Kaya, 11, with ex-fianc\u00e9 Wladimir Klitschko<\/strong> \u2014 was found unresponsive after authorities responded to a cardiac arrest and possible overdose on Sunday. First responders made several life-saving efforts, including CPR and the use of medications, but were ultimately unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Celebrities React to Hayden Panettiere\u2018s Sudden Death at 36<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tHollywood is mourning the tragic loss of Hayden Panettiere at age 36. The Heroes and Nashville alum\u2019s representative confirmed to Us on Sunday, August 16, that the actress had died. Details surrounding Panettiere\u2019s death were not immediately available. \u201cIt is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,\u201d Panettiere\u2019s father, [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The late Remember the Titans<\/i> star first started dating Hickerson, 36, in 2018. Throughout the years, the pair were by each other\u2019s sides during major life moments, including the death of Hayden\u2019s brother, Jansen Panettiere<\/strong>, in February 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was by her side for Jansen\u2019s funeral. She spent the holidays with him and his family in South Carolina in 2024,\u201d the source recalls. \u201cShe remained very close with his entire family and spoke to them often.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayden\u2019s relationship with Brian is back in the spotlight after a Greenville City Police Department incident report<\/span><\/a> released on Tuesday, August 18, revealed both Brian and his brother, Zach Hickerson<\/strong>, were at the apartment at the time of Hayden\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter EMS officially declared Hayden deceased, I escorted Zach and Brian out of the apartment,\u201d the police report, obtained by Us<\/em>, stated regarding the events that took place on Sunday. \u201cI observed Zach to be very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden. Brian did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Inside<\/div>

\n Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson<\/span> Hollywood To You\/Star Max\/GC Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning<\/i>, released just three months before her sudden passing, Hayden sat down with Us<\/i> <\/a>exclusively and candidly addressed the alleged abuse in her past relationship with Brian.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting an abusive person out of your life is like trying to rip a weed out that is so entangled into your life, and every time you pull it out another weed pops back up and you\u2019re like, I thought I killed this,\u201d she told Us<\/em> at the time. \u201cThey always manage to find a way to slither back in, even if you\u2019re an incredibly strong-willed person. What happened in Wyoming [on Valentine\u2019s Day in February 2020 following another alleged domestic dispute<\/a>] helped push me in the right direction, but it still took me a long time. I still struggled to fully put a kibosh to it for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with NBC News<\/span><\/a> published on Tuesday, August 18, Hayden\u2019s mother, Lesley Vogel<\/strong>, broke her silence<\/span><\/a> on her daughter\u2019s death while condemning Brian for reentering her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,\u201d she told the outlet. \u201cThere is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times, and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Hayden<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Hayden Panettiere and Ex Brian Hickerson\u2018s Ups and Downs<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tBefore her death, Hayden Panettiere was in a tumultuous on-off relationship with Brian Hickerson. Panettiere moved on with Hickerson in 2018 after her split from fianc\u00e9 Wladimir Klitschko. The actress and Klitschko began dating in 2009. The pair briefly broke up in 2011 but got engaged two years later. They welcomed daughter Kaya in December [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Before Vogel broke her silence, a separate insider previously told Us<\/i> that Hayden\u2019s friends were \u201cworried<\/span><\/a>\u201d about the Heroes<\/i> actress after she reconnected with her ex.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat relationship and association had led her down a dark path in the past, so her friends and inner circle were worried for her,\u201d the insider claimed. \u201cThere were concerns and her friends really hoped she was doing OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her memoir released in May, Hayden candidly addressed the alleged abuse in her past relationship with Brian.<\/p>\n

The source tells Us<\/i> that Hayden and Brian chose to take \u201ca step back\u201d before the book was available to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian was staying on his mother\u2019s couch in South Carolina. He was not working and would go live on Instagram at all hours of the night talking about random things and showing that he was living with his mother,\u201d the source claims. \u201cFriends knew it would not be long before he found his way back into Hayden\u2019s life once the attention around her new memoir slowed down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Wladimir<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Hayden Panettiere\u2018s Ex Wladimir Klitschko Breaks Silence on Her Sudden Death<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tHayden Panettiere\u2018s former fianc\u00e9, Wladimir Klitschko, is speaking out for the first time about her shocking death. \u201cOur family is going through a time of profound shock and grief,\u201d Klitschko, 50, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, August 18, alongside a throwback photo of him, Panettiere and their daughter, Kaya. \u201cThe announcement of Hayden\u2019s tragic death [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In an interview with TMZ<\/span><\/a> conducted in May, Brian was asked if he thought Hayden was better off without him. Brian said he would be an \u201cidiot\u201d not to walk away from the late actress in order to let her\u00a0 \u201cflourish in her career.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\"\"
\n\t\"\"<\/p>\n