The 35-year old actress Hayden Panettiere has not had it easy and the star of the Scream franchise has lived through a family ordeal of her own.
In February 2023 her younger brother, Jansen, unexpectedly died from an undiagnosed heart condition leaving Panettiere’s world in tatters.
“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she tells People in her first interview about the tragedy. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”
Jansen, who was also an actor, was just 28. 19 months after his death, Panettiere said she is still utterly heartbroken.
“No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss,” she said.
Hayden Panettiere’s difficult past
Panettiere also opened up about the direct aftermath of her brother’s death and how it reawakened demons from her past.
“I had to see horrific paparazzi pictures of myself coming out of Jansen’s funeral, which happened in a very private place, and it was shocking,” she told the magazine. “My agoraphobia came out, which is something I’ve struggled with in the past.”
The stress also saw her body balloon and she piled on 18 kilos.
Panettiere had to draw on all her experiences to move forward because, tragically, this is not the first time the young star has been faced with a life-changing experience.
When did Hayden Panettiere lose custody?
In the run up to Jansen’s death Panettiere had spent years struggling with drugs and alcohol addiction and, as part of this journey, she signed custody of her daughter, Kaya, over to her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko in 2018.
She later said it was “the most heartbreaking thing” she’d ever done.
“I felt horribly guilty but at the same time, I was trying to tell myself if I’m not okay, if I’m not good then I cannot be the best mum,” she told Red Table Talk in 2022.
Panettiere has spoken openly about the crippling post natal depression she experienced after Kaya’s birth in 2014 and how it saw her self medicate with alcohol.
She entered treatment for substance abuse for the first time when Kaya was four months old and her daughter now lives in the Ukraine with Klitschko.
Panettiere travels to see her regularly.
“She has a beautiful life. I was just with her. She’s just an amazing child. She’s smart and she’s funny and for whatever reason, she still loves me,” she told People.
Is Hayden Panettiere out of rehab?
With the help of those around her Panettiere is now back on track and is looking forward to the release of her new movie Amber Alert.
Her brother’s death is never far from her mind though and she says the new perspective she’s gained from it will stay with her life.
“When something that massive has happened to you, you really learn to pick your fights and just not let the little things upset you,” she told People. “Because once something so horrific, so deep, so catastrophic happens in your life, there’s not much that can really rock you.”
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