Hayden Panettiere died last Sunday, August 16, at the age of only 36. A few months before her departure, the artist released a memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning”, where she reports, for example, episodes of domestic violence that she lived with Brian Hickerson.
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23/08/2026
by
News to Minutes
Hayden Panettiere died last Sunday, August 16, at the age of 36 and left the fans and the Hollywood world in shock.
The artist, famous for the series “Heroes” and “Nashville”, had just months ago written a memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning”, in which she had several traumatic episodes of her life.
One of them was the toxic relationship with Brian Hickerson, where he suffered domestic violence.
The two have maintained a relationship marked by comings and goings since 2018.
In May 2019, Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence due to an alleged incident involving the artist. According to the police, the assault took place inside the actress's house and the man was even accused of domestic violence. TMZ ensured that there were visible marks on Panettiere's body.
Hickerson was formally accused of domestic violence and received a court order to keep a distance of about 90 meters from the actress and not keep in touch with her but in September 2019 the case was dismissed.
In February of the following year, Brian Hickerson was arrested in Wyoming after a domestic discussion with Panettiere where he, according to TMZ, assaulted her “with her fist closed on the right side of her face”. The young man was arrested but left on bail for $5,000. In July 2020, the actress of “Heroes” obtained a restraining order against the former companion.
And that's when Hayden went to Instagram to talk about it. “I am coming out with the truth about what happened to me, hoping that my story will encourage other people in abusive relationships to seek the help they need. I'm ready to do my part and make sure that man never hurts again and nobody. I am grateful for my support network, which helped me find the courage to recover my voice and my life”, added the actress.
Hickerson was arrested again in Los Angeles and charged with eight charges due to incidents between May 2019 and January 2020.
In April 2021, Hickerson accepted a plea agreement, was sentenced to 45 days in prison, four years in probation, 52 compulsory classes on domestic violence and a five-year restraining order.
The couple were still together again, with one more episode of violence, and they definitively separated in July 2022.
In his book, Hayden reports several episodes of violence. Once, Hickerson would have hit her head against a wall and beaten her face with so much violence that she couldn't leave the house for weeks. Brian Hickerson also reported episodes in this memoir and recalled a shocking story.
“There is a story of when I was drunk. Hayden was on the other side of the room, I had the phone in my hand and said: “Hayden, I will give you 10 seconds to run as fast as you can before I send you the phone up,” he said.