Hayden Panettiere’s ex revealed why their relationship was ‘probably’ doomed

Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend spoke candidly about their troubled relationship and why they were unlikely to get back together in what became one of his final interviews about the actress before her sudden death at 36.

The Heroes and Nashville star was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday, 16 August, after an acquaintance called 911 at about 1.51pm.

Emergency crews found Hayden in cardiac arrest and attempted advanced life support before she was pronounced dead at 2.32pm.

An autopsy has since found no signs of trauma contributing to her death, while her cause and manner of death remain pending further testing.

Dispatch audio obtained by TMZ included references to an “overdose” and cardiac arrest, but authorities have not determined that an overdose caused her death.

Brian Hickerson, 37, had discussed his relationship with Hayden in interviews with TMZ in May, around the publication of her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

He described his former girlfriend as “the sweetest thing in the world” and said: “It’s not about who you spend Saturday night with, it’s about who you spend all Sunday with, and Hayden Panettiere is a Sunday girl.”

Brian also described Hayden as the most talented person he had ever met, but acknowledged the difficulties surrounding their relationship and said he would be an “idiot” not to walk away and allow her to “flourish in her career”.

Brian was arrested in 2020 following a domestic violence incident involving Hayden and was later convicted and jailed.

Despite the breakup, Brian told TMZ in May he still held out hope of marrying Hayden one day.

Hayden was subsequently approached at Los Angeles International Airport and asked about the possibility, laughing before making clear that she did not believe marriage between them was going to happen.

Brian’s interviews coincided with the release of Hayden’s memoir, in which she wrote about their relationship and the abuse she said she had experienced.

Brian told TMZ reading those passages had been difficult and said he had asked for one particularly dark episode to be removed, although it remained in the finished book.

He also said he believed accounts such as Hayden’s could help people who had been abusive change their behavior.