Hayden Panettiere's On-Again and Off-Again Boyfriend Brian Hickerson Once Called Her His 'Sunday Girl'

Brian Hickerson once called Hayden Panettiere his “Sunday girl” before their complicated relationship resurfaced in the weeks before her death. Days later, a judge rejected his bid to erase his felony convictions, while Panettiere's final text revealed a surprisingly hopeful wish.

Hayden Panettiere's relationship with Brian Hickerson had already weathered years of breakups, reconciliations and painful headlines. But in a May 2026 interview, Hickerson offered an unexpectedly tender description of the actress — one that now feels very different after the events that followed.

At the time, Hickerson said Panettiere held a special place in his heart, but he also acknowledged that their relationship was complicated. He suggested that stepping away might give her the space to focus on her future, adding, "So we probably wouldn't be good together."

During the 2026 interview, Hickerson was asked what he wanted people to understand about his relationship with Panettiere. His answer was affectionate and surprisingly poetic. "Hayden Panettiere is the sweetest thing in the world. It's not about who you spend Saturday night with. It's who you spend all day Sunday with. Hayden Panettiere was my Sunday girl."

The interviewer then asked whether Hickerson believed Panettiere would be better off without him. His response suggested that he knew their relationship was complicated. "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."

In the interview, Hickerson said he wanted to see what Panettiere would accomplish over the next three decades of her career. "I'd like to see what she's going to do with the next, like, 30 years of her career. She's, you know, she'll always hold a special place in my heart, and, you know, I hope the same for her. But, yeah, we're just good buddies."

Panettiere and Hickerson were first linked in August 2018, shortly after her reported separation from Wladimir Klitschko.

Their Romance Had Already Taken a Dark Turn

By May 2019, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office had charged Hickerson with one felony count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, or girlfriend following his arrest over an alleged physical altercation. He was released after posting a $50,000 bond. At that stage, a conviction could have carried a prison sentence of up to four years, according to the 2019 report.

People close to Panettiere expressed concern about the romance. One source described Hickerson as controlling and prone to anger, while another called him a bad influence. Hickerson publicly rejected those worries and said Panettiere was happy and healthy.

Yet his legal troubles involving her continued. In February 2020, Hickerson was arrested in Jackson, Wyoming, after allegedly punching Panettiere on the right side of her face with a closed fist. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and interference with a police officer and reportedly pleaded not guilty.

A later California indictment included four felony counts of corporal injury, two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of attempting to dissuade Panettiere as a witness, and a misdemeanor battery count. The allegations covered incidents between May 2019 and January 2020.

In 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, girlfriend, or child's parent. The remaining charges were dropped during sentencing.

He received 45 days in jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution, and a five-year protective order.

Panettiere had previously issued a forceful statement about the abuse she said she endured. She explained that she was speaking publicly in the hope that other people in abusive relationships would seek help.

"I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again," she said. She also thanked the people who helped her regain her voice and her life.

Her attorney, Alan Jackson, described Panettiere as a survivor of years of psychological, emotional, and severe physical abuse. He said her decision to cooperate with prosecutors was part of a healing process that had only just begun.

Yet despite that history, Panettiere and Hickerson's connection kept resurfacing.

The Relationship Was Apparently Far From Over

By 2026, the public had become accustomed to reports that Panettiere and Hickerson had split. According to sources cited by TMZ, however, those reports did not tell the full story.

A source close to Hickerson claimed the pair had not broken up as many times as the public had been led to believe and were actually together while Panettiere promoted her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in the months before her death.

The relationship was reportedly kept private because Panettiere's team believed Hickerson was "bad for business." The secrecy apparently extended beyond avoiding public appearances together.

That detail gave their private relationship a particularly unsettling significance. But what happened just three days before Panettiere's death added another unexpected chapter to Hickerson's story.

A Judge Rejected Hickerson's Bid Just Days Before Hayden Died

On August 13, a judge rejected Hickerson's request to reduce his past felony convictions to misdemeanors and his separate request to have them expunged. According to Page Six, the prosecution objected to both motions during the hearing. Judge Olivia Rosales denied the requests, with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office confirming the decision to the publication.

It was not the first time Hickerson had attempted to have the convictions reduced or dismissed. He had reportedly made a similar request in July 2025.

His petition noted that he had fulfilled the conditions of his probation. The timing was striking: the ruling came only three days before Panettiere died. Still, there is no information in the provided sources connecting the court decision to Panettiere's death, and available reports did not accuse Hickerson of involvement in her death.

The circumstances surrounding the actress's final trip remained unclear, including where she and Hickerson stayed and why they traveled south. His family was reportedly aware of Panettiere's death. Then, on August 15, just one day before Panettiere died, Hickerson was reportedly the man who traveled with her from Los Angeles to the South.

And while Hickerson had publicly described Panettiere as his "Sunday girl" months earlier, someone close to her later revealed words from a very different side of her life.

Panettiere's Final Text Was About Something Much Bigger

Musician Clayton Johnson shared a video of himself and Panettiere singing after her death, along with a deeply personal message about their friendship. "I spent last night trying to process, to try to find the right words, but there really aren’t any. More than anything, I hope you’re at peace now and reunited with Jansen."

But then he shared something more intimate. Johnson said the last text Panettiere ever sent him was a sentence that sounded unmistakably like her:

"Honestly, people think it's a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me."

Johnson said the message was "you in a nutshell" and expressed gratitude for having known her and for the memories they shared. His post ended with a simple farewell:

"Fly high, Hayden. 🤍"

While headlines had followed her relationships, addiction struggles, and painful experiences, her final words to Johnson were about world peace. But Panettiere's death itself had already left unanswered questions.

An Unanswered Call Drew Police to South Carolina

Panettiere died on Sunday, August 16, 2026, at age 36 after an acquaintance reportedly called 911 to report an unresponsive woman at a home in Greenville, South Carolina.

Initial dispatch information referred to a person in cardiac arrest, and a separate report said a friend found Panettiere inside the home. Her publicist, Kasey Kitchen, confirmed that authorities were investigating. "There's an investigation ongoing," Kitchen said. "We should know more tomorrow."

The Greenville Police Department and Greenville County Coroner's Office were handling the open investigation. No cause or manner of death was immediately announced.

Police said their preliminary findings had uncovered no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances. A source close to Panettiere also said she had complained of back pain during the past year. There was no official suggestion that the pain had any connection to her death.

Her representative remembered her as far more than a familiar face on television.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," the representative said in a statement reported by NBC News. "She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her, and to the millions who watched her onscreen."

Panettiere's death arrived only months after she began discussing her private life with rare openness. Her comments covered everything from motherhood and addiction to relationships that ranged from peaceful to deeply troubling.

The Battle She Refused to Hide

In July 2026, Panettiere gave a deeply personal interview to MOMÉ magazine. She did not present herself as cured or pretend that recovery had erased the past.

Her account began with the birth of her daughter, Kaya, when a smooth pregnancy gave way to a frightening medical emergency. Panettiere experienced sharp pain in her lower back because the baby was pressing against a bundle of nerves, and she was eventually taken for a cesarean section.

After Kaya was placed on her chest, someone called a "code crimson." The newborn was handed to Panettiere's then-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, while medical workers rushed to control Panettiere's hemorrhaging.

Panettiere later learned that the strange suctioning sound she heard in the room was her own blood being removed. Seven transfusions and a second surgery were required to repair the damaged vessels and save her life.

"I closed my eyes and just prayed for my daughter to be okay," she recalled. "I truly was ready to go if it was my time. Kaya being safe and healthy was all that mattered."

Her emotional crisis continued after the physical danger had passed. While watching Klitschko rock their daughter in the hospital, Panettiere felt none of the instant connection she had expected. "I felt nothing," she said. "And now I had to figure out how to bond with her. It seemed like an impossible task."

Panettiere had imagined motherhood in detail before giving birth, including the activities she would share with her future "mini-me." The numbness that followed left her ashamed and confused.

She said she appeared blessed on the outside while feeling empty on the inside. She began using wine to silence that emptiness, and the habit developed into dangerous territory.

"I turned to wine, which ultimately ended up leading to an alcohol dependency," she explained. "It was how I would get through each day."

People around Panettiere saw the addiction but did not initially understand the depression beneath it. Even after she received a postpartum depression diagnosis, she said treatment remained focused on her drinking instead of its source.

Panettiere wished the illness had been recognized sooner. Treatment helped her become sober, but she remained in denial about how much healing was still ahead.

She was actively fighting substance abuse when she agreed that her daughter should live with Klitschko in Ukraine in 2018. "It wasn't a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make," she said. "I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mom she needed me to be."

Hayden Panettiere eventually saw her daughter go to live with her father in Ukraine.

Panettiere later believed a temporary separation would allow her to seek help and eventually rebuild her time with Kaya, but she ultimately signed papers giving Klitschko full custody.

"It was the worst signing those papers, the most heartbreaking thing I've ever, ever had to do in my life," she said in 2022.

Still, Panettiere remained in frequent contact with her girl and felt deeply connected to her. She proudly called her daughter a "mini-me." She hoped Kaya would eventually understand why they could not always live together.

Therapy had also taught Panettiere that forgiveness needed to include herself. "You have to let go of what you wish you could change, and be present, and make the most of what you have now," she said.

Her Final Words Now Feel Painfully Different

Despite everything, Panettiere refused to call herself a victim in that last interview. "I'm a warrior," she declared, describing herself as resilient after surviving more trauma than she ever expected to face.

She also resisted offering a neat recovery story. "I'm a work in progress. We all are," she told MOMÉ. "I take each day as it comes. I'm doing the work, and I'm doing my best."

Her self-care had become quiet and practical. She set boundaries, journaled, resisted the urge to please everyone, and stayed near people who made her feel safe.

Panettiere also enjoyed tea and a good book. Creating something she could bring into the world made her feel most alive, and she wanted her experiences to help others facing similar pain.

The interview closed with a question about what she would tell her frightened, exhausted younger self. Panettiere's answer was also meant for any new mother who felt numb, alone, or convinced she was failing.

Her message was hopeful when she gave it. After her sudden death, its two short sentences feel almost unbearably poignant.

"You're stronger than you know. And you're going to be just fine."

Those words reflected the survival instinct that ran throughout Panettiere's life. The same intensity could also be seen in the way she approached love, even when a relationship left her shattered.

The Relationships That Shaped Her Private Life

Stephen Colletti was one of Panettiere's first public boyfriends. They were linked in 2006 and dated for nearly two years before separating by the end of 2007.

In a May 2026 cover story, Panettiere said Colletti had been particularly helpful when paparazzi and tabloid attention began closing in around her. His experience on "Laguna Beach," which he starred on from 2004 to 2005, meant he already understood that kind of scrutiny.

Panettiere described Colletti as "very protective" and said he dealt with reporters diplomatically. He showed her that boundaries could be firm without becoming rude or hostile.

Their separation was gentle by celebrity-breakup standards. "We just ended up going our separate ways, there wasn't really a story there," she said. "Like, no drama."

Panettiere encountered Colletti again in 2026 after years apart and said the reunion was pleasant. Although they had not stayed as close as she wished, she remained grateful for the way he treated her.

Her relationship with "Heroes" costar Milo Ventimiglia carried a different emotional intensity. Panettiere was 18, and Ventimiglia was 29, creating a nearly 12-year age gap.

Panettiere said she entered every relationship with her "whole self" and once believed the romance could keep developing toward marriage. Still, she struggled to place the word "I" before "love you," a hesitation she did not yet understand.

Their breakup crushed her. When asked whether Ventimiglia briefly reversed his decision because of her reaction, Panettiere answered with painful bluntness in a separate Us interview. "One hundred percent it was only because I was over the toilet, hysterically crying," she said.

She remembered feeling as though her world had collapsed because no betrayal or explosive confrontation had warned her it was coming. According to Panettiere, Ventimiglia took the breakup back after witnessing her distress, then ended the relationship again one week later.

Although he initially took back the breakup, Milo Ventimiglia followed through a week later and ended things for good.

Panettiere later became involved with professional boxer and father of her daughter, Klitschko.