Inside Hayden Panettiere's many heartbreaks: From doomed union with much-older Milo Ventimiglia to custody drama with Wladimir Klitschko

Hayden Panettiere's death at just 36, after a life fraught by addiction and numerous heartbreaks, has shocked the world.

Panettiere, who would have turned 37 on August 21, was found 'unresponsive' by officers and paramedics in an apartment block in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday, and she was later pronounced dead at the scene following a suspected overdose.

Police and the local coroner's office are probing the death, but said the 'preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances'.

The star and her on-off, real estate agent boyfriend Brian Hickerson, who was previously jailed for abusing her, were said to have flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina, where he is from, one day before she died. 

She is survived by one daughter, Kaya, 11, who she welcomed during her longest romantic relationship, with boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 50.

The pair sparked up a romance in 2009, and even became engaged, before going their separate ways in 2018 following the actress' public mental health battles.

The actress, who never married, had previously had a high-profile age-gap romance with her former Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia when she was 18 and he was 30 – with the star later blaming her inability to say 'I love you' as a catalyst for the split.

Her final romance was with Hickerson, who previously admitted to abusing her and was sentenced to 45 days in county jail – and served 13 days the following month –  after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend back in April 2021.

STEPHEN COLLETTI – 2006-2007 

Panettiere and the actor, now 40, hit it off as young stars on the rise in Hollywood, dating for almost two years from 2006-2007. 

At the time Panettiere was rising to fame in Heroes, while Colletti was starring in reality show Laguna Beach – before a starring role on One Tree Hill.

The actress spoke to Us Weekly in April about Colletti, saying: 'I’m so grateful that he was part of my life, especially when he was. Because when I was with him was when I started having to deal with paparazzi and tabloids and being the focal point of them.

'He was able to help guide me through that experience and getting used to that.

'He never appeared to be or came off as a bad guy. So I knew that there was a way to protect yourself and put up boundaries without being offensive or rude.'

The pair broke up at the end of 2007, with Panettiere saying: 'We just ended up going our separate ways, there wasn’t really a story there.'

'We don’t keep in touch the way that I wish we did, because he’s such a great guy, but there was no drama.'

Colletti is now married to Alex Weaver, and they share one child. He has gone on to star in the last season of The Traitors as a Faithful.

MILO VENTIMIGLIA – 2007-2009

Panettiere and Ventimiglia's friendship-turned-romance in 2007 raised eyebrows with the actress just 18 and Ventimiglia aged 30 at the time.

The pair were cast as Claire Bennet and Peter Petrelli in the NBC superhero drama as far back as early 2006.

'I saw him as my partner and that it was going to hopefully keep going and evolving and lead to marriage,' the actress said in her Us Weekly cover story earlier this year. 

'But it was a point of contention that I was unable to put the "I" in front of "love you" and at the time, I didn't realize or understand why it made me feel so uncomfortable. I could only say "love you" in a casual way. 

'Being older, he was much more aware of what that meant. And that said a lot.' 

'Every relationship I’ve ever been in, I invested my whole self in. I saw him as my partner and that it was going to hopefully keep going and evolving and lead to marriage.

Looking back on her teenage romance with the actor earlier this year, Panettiere revealed motherhood had given her a new perspective on age-gap romances.

'That's hard. My daughter's 11, so I'm trying to think of how I would feel. I'm sure she's going to do exactly what Mommy did.

'I'm ready and prepared for it, but I think it's about the person. I was working with him all the time. My family knew him well. I was also ... At 18, I lived so much life that he almost couldn't count me as being 18. So Milo and I, even though he was 30, had a lot more in common than people might think.'

Ventimiglia, now 49, is now married to Jarah Mariano and the pair share two children.

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO – 2009-2018 

Panettiere's most enduring, and unlikely romance, began in 2008 when she met pro boxer Wladimir Klitschko at a party.

After her shock split from Ventimiglia, she sparked up a relationship with Klitschko in 2009 and dated for two years before splitting in 2011. 

They reconciled in 2013 and she announced her engagement several months later in October 2013.

They welcomed their daughter Kaya in December 2014.   

'He is just so over the moon,' Panettiere said of Klitschko. 'I'm lucky if I can get my hands on the kid. He's like, "No, no, I got her." Which is exactly what I thought he would be like.'

However, the couple's relationship would hit turbulent waters after Panettiere's mental health began to unravel after the birth of Kaya. 

Panettiere previously revealed that she had started abusing drugs and alcohol when she was just 15 years old – and that her addiction spiraled out of control while she was battling postpartum depression after Kaya's birth – leading her to seek treatment when her baby was four months old.

She said at the time of her mental health battle: 'It's something a lot of women experience. When [you're told] about postpartum depression you think it's 'I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child.'

In 2018, following their split, Panettiere announced she had made the 'difficult decision' to sign full custody of her daughter to her ex. Kaya then moved to his native Ukraine. 

In her final interview in May, she spoke to Dear Momé about her choice, saying: 'It wasn't a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make. I was going through a really challenging time in my life.' 

She told Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast in May: 'I have been the one who sought it out, who was saying, ‘I desperately need help. I know this is going to look terrible, but I am. I cannot live like this anymore...

The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be OK with it is heartbreaking. It couldn’t be further from the truth...

'It became this horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse, and just me trying to find my way back.'

'I love my daughter, and I'm so proud of the young woman she is becoming. I talk to her all the time, and I feel so connected to her. She's like a mini-me.'

Discussing the prospect of bringing her daughter back, Panettiere insisted that she would not want to take her away from her 'incredible' life in Ukraine.

She said: 'By the time I finally got healthy, I felt like it would have been unfair of me to, and selfish of me to try to pull her out of this life that she had been creating.

SCOTTY MCKNIGHT - 2011-2012

Panettiere dated New York Jets wide receiver Scotty McKnight, now 38, for more than a year following her breakup with Klitschko in 2011. 

She and McKnight ended their relationship in December 2012 and she was seen with Klitschko shortly afterwards.

McKnight is now in a relationship with partner Tayla Burke and the couple share three young children. 

BRIAN HICKERSON - 2018-2022 

Panettiere and Brian Hickerson had an on-again, off-again relationship from 2018 to 2022 that was marred by domestic violence incidents and arrests.

The actress was in the midst of her substance abuse issues when she started dating Hickerson, 37, shortly after she wrapped the sixth and final season of Nashville. 

Their relationship soon turned ugly when Hickerson was arrested in May 2019 after an incident with Panettiere. He was charged with domestic violence, and she received a protective order before the charges were dropped.

In July of 2020, he was arrested again in connection with eight charges of domestic violence. He entered a no-contest plea to a pair of felony counts of injuring a partner in 2021, and the rest of the charges were dropped. 

Hickerson was in jail for 13 days, and Panettiere put out a statement following the arrest saying she hoped she could serve as an example for others in a similar situation.

'I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me in the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,' she said at the time. 'I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.'

Panettiere told People that she continues to 'feel the same way' about the statement she put out two years ago.

'None of it is OK,' she said. 'But I want to make sure that everybody knows that each person who goes through something like that, they're on their own journey. No two things are exactly alike.'

Panettiere also spoke with the publication about an incident in which she and Hickerson got into a bar brawl with a group of revelers at a celebrity hotspot in Los Angeles in 2022. 

According to TMZ, Hickerson sparked the fight when he spat on a fellow patron at Sunset Marquis, which prompted the manager to throw everyone out of the establishment. 

However, a representative for Panettiere told People that Hickerson 'made a comment to an individual about leaving the waitress a poor tip.'

Panettiere later said she was 'trying to live in a place of understanding' in regards to her history with Hickerson and the multiple domestic violence incidents he was charged with during their relationship.

'I think [Brian] has done his time and was willing to get help. I think about the things I have done in my life that people forgave me for,' she told People. 'Making amends is a really important thing that you learn in treatment. And it gives you a lot of inner peace.'

It's unclear when exactly they split, but Hickerson confirmed that they are 'just friends' and 'absolutely not' together anymore.

However, in recent years the pair appeared to have repaired their friendship and were spotted travelling together. 

After Panettiere recounted their terrifying relationship in memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Hickerson in May unbelievably said he can still see a future with the star.

When asked by TMZ if he ever thinks about marrying the actress, he responded: 'Yeah, of course... I hope so - she probably doesn't think the same way.'

However, Hickerson acknowledged it was not healthy for the pair to resume a romantic relationship, adding: 'I think that Hayden is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met in my life, and I would be an idiot not to walk away from her and let her flourish in her career. 

'So, we probably wouldn’t be good together.'

Hickerson said the pair's relationship had now evolved into friendship after they were seen at the airport together in March, but whined: 'I miss Hayden every day.'

The actress later offered her response to Hickerson's comments about marriage while talking to TMZ as she arrived to LAX airport.

When asked to offer her reaction, she simply replied with a small laugh, 'I don't think that's going to happen,' before making her way into the crowded airport. 

Despite his public declaration of affection, Hickerson also revealed there was one particular violent incident he wanted Panettiere to leave out of the book, but she ended up keeping it in. 

'There's a story where I was drunk, right? Hayden was standing across the room and I had a phone in my hand and I said, "Hayden I'll give you 10 seconds to run as fast as you can before I throw it at you,"' he recalled.

'Who wants to read something about themselves like that, right?' he asked, before adding, 'I did it. I did it.'

'I went into such a dark place, man, drugs, alcohol,' he recalled of their relationship. 'Good God, almighty, she's five foot two on paper, four foot 11 in real life. I mean, come on.' 

'Terrible thing I did to her,' he added. 

Hickerson said he's had a 'couple of opportunities to apologize' to his ex, adding, 'You never lay hands on a woman. Bottom line.'

He also spoke about an incident that took place in 2020 when he was arrested on Valentine's Day for allegedly punching her. He entered a plea of not guilty at the time.

'I had a lot to drink, and I got physical with her, and I got arrested, spent the night in jail. That's just what happens when you lay hands on women,' he said. 

Panettiere also previously dated retired NFL wide receiver Scotty McKnight, Welsh TV presenter Steve Jones, singer Jesse McCartney, The Hills alum Stephen Colletti and the late Pink Taco founder Harry Morton. 

On Monday it was announced that Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, has died aged 36 with police saying there were 'no signs of foul play'.

The star began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas then gaining wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember The Titans with Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in Pixar's 1998 film A Bug's Life.

Panettiere later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville.

She earned two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress on the show, while her singing produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

Panettiere's film credits include 2006's Bring It On: All Or Nothing, comedy-drama film Raising Helen, and appearances in Scream 4 and Scream VI as Kirby Reed.

On Monday, a spokesman for City of Greenville Police told the Daily Mail: 'On August 16, 2026, at approximately 1.51pm, officers from the Greenville Police Department, accompanied by EMS personnel, responded to a report of an unresponsive female at Judson Mill Lofts, located at 701 Easley Bridge Road.

'Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

'The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner's Office.

'The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms Panettiere placed the 911 call. At this time, no further details are available for release.' 

Earlier, a representative for Panettiere confirmed the death, saying her family would remember her as an 'incredible light' who brought 'immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her.'