Hayden Panettiere has entered rehab after a family member traveled to Los Angeles to get the actress help, a source close to the family tells In Touch.
The source says Hayden’s concerned family member also removed Hayden’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, from her home.
Brian was previously arrested and charged with felony domestic violence against Hayden in May 2019, through the pair reconciled and have endured a volatile on-again off-again relationship since.
The October 6 intervention comes after fans voiced their concern over the actress’ well-being after she appeared to slur in an on-camera media interview. At the time, she blamed exhaustion for her apparent out-of-sorts behavior.
Representatives for Hayden did not respond to In Touch‘s requests for comment.
Hayden has been keeping a low profile in recent weeks, while her last Instagram post was uploaded on September 24. “Had so much fun with @hodakotb and @jennabhager on @todayshow this morning. Thank you guys for having me!” she captioned a photo from the set of the Today show. “#AmberAlert is out this Friday.”
She was admitted into rehab after fans expressed their concern when she appeared to be “slurring” her words in an interview with People on September 18. In the video, which was uploaded to the outlet’s Instagram page, Hayden gushed about her daughter, Kaya, and how similar they are.
Shortly after the interview was uploaded, many social media users took to the comments section to beg the outlet to take the video down. “This interview should be removed asap!!” Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd commented.
The concerned comments continued as another person wrote, “Slurred speech, eyes can barely stay open, trying to make it through long words clearly not sober. Very sad.”
Hayden eventually addressed the concerns in an Instagram post on September 22. “It’s unfathomable that I’m even in this position, but I feel forced to address it in a space where I won’t be criticized for how fast or slow I speak,” she wrote at the time. “I hadn’t slept for two days prior to the shoot due to one of my dogs who was recovering from an emergency surgical procedure. It was an 8-hour shoot followed by an on-camera interview that was supposed to last for 1 hour.”
After emphasizing that she was “exhausted,” Hayden explained that her rep “stopped the interview early as it became obvious that I was fading – especially as the subject matter became heavier.” In addition to talking about her daughter, Hayden discussed the 2023 death of her brother, Jansen Panettiere, during the interview.
Hayden has been open about her struggles with opioid and alcohol addiction over the years, and she previously discussed her troubles with People in July 2022.
“I was on top of the world, and I ruined it. I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens,” she recalled about her addiction, adding that becoming sober hadn’t “been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs.”
The Ice Princess actress continued, “But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.”
In addition to making headlines for her health, her fans have also grown concerned about her turbulent relationship with Brian. The pair began dating in August 2018, and they broke up multiple times following more than one domestic violence incident over the course of their romance.
Brian was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence against Hayden in May 2019. She was issued a protective order as a result, though In Touch confirmed that his charges were later dropped. They rekindled their romance soon after, though split again less than one year later after another alleged domestic violence incident.
He was charged with eight counts of domestic violence and assault. Brian pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend in April 2021 and he was sentenced to serve 45 days in prison. However, he only served 12 days in jail.
Brian is currently on probation through 2025 as a result of his 2019 and 2020 arrests.
The pair once again made headlines in March 2022 when Brian was involved in an an outdoor brawl in Los Angeles. During the fight, which was captured on video by TMZ, Hayden was seen attempting to pull Brian away from the other people he was arguing with. The incident escalated when Brian and the other patrons became involved in a scuffle on the ground, while Hayden was on top of them in an attempt to pull her boyfriend away.
