What Happened with Hayden Panettiere & Brian Hickerson?

Award-winning actress Hayden Panettiere tragically died on Sunday, August 16, at age 36. At the time of her death, Panettiere was with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson. The two traveled from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death. It’s currently unclear whether Hickerson called 911. 

Multiple sources told Hollywood insider Rob Shuter that Panettiere’s close friends are wondering what happened in her final hours. “People close to Hayden want to know what happened inside that apartment, who was with her, and what happened before that 911 call,” an insider told Naughty But Nice.

Law enforcement told People that the Heroes star went into cardiac arrest in Greenville, S.C., and was pronounced dead at the scene from an alleged overdose. A separate source revealed that Narcan was found at the scene, which, per the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.”

“The obvious questions are where did the drugs come from, who had access to them and whether Hayden knowingly took anything,” another source told Shuter. “But right now, people are looking for answers, not making accusations.”

They continued, “Nobody is accusing Brian of causing Hayden’s death. But people who loved Hayden want to know what he knew, what he saw and what happened between their arrival in South Carolina and the moment she was found.”

Related: Hayden Panettiere Was Reportedly ‘Heartbroken’ Over Her Career Before Her Death: ‘Financial Pressure Became Very Real’

Panettiere and Hickerson’s tumultuous relationship began in 2018, shortly after she ended her engagement to professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko. During their time together, Hickerson was arrested multiple times on domestic violence charges.

In 2021, Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail after he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner. He also received four years of probation, 52 mandatory domestic violence classes, and a five-year restraining order.

According to Page Six, just days before Panettiere’s death, a judge denied Hickerson’s request to reduce the felony charges. 

Panettiere detailed the alleged abuse in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, claiming that Hickerson screamed in her face before allegedly hitting her. “I hear it before I feel it, the unmistakable sound of an open-hand slap,” she wrote. “There’s the burning on my cheek, like I’m on fire. There’s ringing in my head.”

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“In this memoir, Hayden shares a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss.”

Shortly after, “the slaps became hits.” Panettiere claimed, “One night he busts up my face so badly I don’t leave the house for weeks. Another day he screams at me to run as far as I can in five seconds because I’ll need a head start before he throws the remote control at me. This is a man who doesn’t miss, I think. And he doesn’t.”

Panettiere and Hickerson called it quits in 2022 but apparently reconnected months before her death. The two were most recently spotted at a Los Angeles airport in March 2026. A source close to the late actress recently told Us Weekly that “there was still concern among her friends and inner circle. Especially because she started spending time with Brian again.”

“That relationship and association had led her down a dark path in the past, so her friends and inner circle were worried for her,” they said. “There were concerns and her friends really hoped she was doing OK.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) for confidential support.