Nashville star Hayden Panettiere has revealed that she battled a years-long addiction to opioids and alcohol, admitting that her substance abuse issues became so severe, she was at risk of liver failure.
The 32-year-old actress and mother-of-one opened up about her lengthy addiction struggles in a new interview with People magazine, revealing that her drug abuse began when she was just 15 years old – and then spiraled out of control while she was battling postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014.
‘As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without,’ Panettiere confessed – revealing that her struggle with postpartum depression combined with her reliance on drugs and alcohol resulted in her making the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to send her daughter away to live with her father, Wladimir Klitschko, in Ukraine.
‘I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function with sipping alcohol,’ she admitted. ‘[Sending Kaya away] was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But I wanted to be a good mom to her – and sometimes that means letting them go.’
Hayden Panettiere has revealed that she spent years battling an addiction to opioids and alcohol, admitting her substance abuse became so severe she almost suffered liver failure
The 32-year-old actress told People that her addictions spiraled out of control while she was suffering postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter Kaya (pictured)
Panettiere says she did not drink while she was pregnant with Kaya, but she admits that she fell off the wagon soon after her daughter was born, and from there, her alcohol issues continued to spiral out of control.
Panettiere told People magazine that she feels as though she ‘ruined’ the many opportunities that she was given, noting that she was ‘on top of the world’ before plummeting into alcohol and substance abuse
After she sent her daughter away to live with Klitschko, 46, from whom she had split just months before following a nine-year on-off relationship, Panettiere’s drinking continued to worsen – to the point where she had to be hospitalized with jaundice.
‘Doctors told me my liver was going to give out,’ she admitted. ‘I was no longer a 20-year-old who could just bounce right back.’
The former child star, who began acting on-screen at the age of 11, when she landed roles in popular soap operas One Life to Live and Guiding Light, says her drug abuse issues started when she was just 15 – one year before she began filming hit TV series Heroes.
At the time, she claims members of her team began giving her ‘happy pills’ in an effort to make her seem more ‘peppy’ during interviews.
‘I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction,’ she explained.
Speaking to Good Morning America on Wednesday, the actress explained that her battle with postpartum depression made her alcoholism all the more difficult to deal with because she couldn’t see where her battles with substance abuse ‘ended’ and where her depression ‘began’.
‘[The past four years have] been difficult,’ she said, looking back on her struggles since the birth of her daughter. ‘The years before were very difficult for me too. I’d been struggling for a long time.’
Asking where she sought help for her depression, Panettiere continued: ‘The bottle. The bottom of a bottle.
‘I’d been struggling for a long time,’ Panettiere told Good Morning America of the years leading up to her daughter’s birth in 2018
She added that her postpartum depression made her alcoholism all the more difficult to deal with because she turned to ‘the bottom of the bottle’ to try and cope
‘I didn’t have any negative feelings towards my child, I just knew I was deeply depressed. And I didn’t know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning and I ran myself pretty ragged.
‘People around me were more concerned about my usage of alcohol than they ever were about the postpartum depression.
‘I felt like I was walking blind and there was nobody there that was able to support me in the way I needed to be supported.
‘And I don’t like to ask for help either. You know, I want to be that strong, stoic woman, but when you see a [previously] happy-go-lucky girl… suddenly on the floor in a puddle of mess and alcohol, you’ve got to know something is wrong.’
After Panettiere ended up in the hospital, she finally found the strength to seek treatment for her addictions and ultimately entered rehab for eight months, where she says she found the support she needed to face her demons head-on.
‘[I made] a lot of great friends in treatment who can speak on your same level where you don’t feel like you’re going crazy,’ she told GMA.
But while the actress is now sober – and focused on ensuring her daughter Kaya is safe and sound while living in Ukraine – she admits that her struggles are far from over.
‘I’m good [but] it’s an everyday battle, it really is,’ she shared. ‘I’m grateful to say I’m sober today.’
Although Kaya, seven, is living in a country that has been ravaged by war amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Panettiere (seen with her daughter and Klitschko) insists she is ‘safe’
Panettiere (seen starring in Heroes in 2006 when she was 17) says her abuse battles began at the age of 15 when people on her team gave her ‘happy pills’ to make her ‘peppy’ in interviews
The actress’s drug and alcohol abuse issues were ongoing while she was filming the hit country music show Nashville, which ended in 2018
She added to People: ‘It’s an everyday choice, and I’m checking in with myself all the time. But I’m just so grateful to be part of this world again, and I will never take it for granted again.’
As for daughter Kaya, now seven, while she is currently living with her father in a country that has been ravaged by war following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Panettiere insists that her daughter is perfectly safe – and even praised the youngster’s handling of the situation.
‘She’s my favorite little person,’ she told GMA. ‘And watching how she has handled this whole Ukrainian situation has really blown my mind.
‘She is very safe and where she is, she also has a lot of friends.’
However, it has previously been reported that Kaya was sent out of Ukraine while her father and his brother, Kyiv mayor Vitali, threw themselves into the fight against Russian forces.
The brothers took up arms to repel a Russian convoy approaching the capital in March, after declaring they were ‘ready to die’ to defend their homeland.
Wladimir has also called for Russia to be isolated from all sporting competition, warning that Ukrainian women and children are ‘dying at the hands of the country’s aggression’.
He called for governing bodies to follow in the footsteps of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after the authority recommended banning Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions.
Panettiere’s interviews with People and GMA come less than four months after the actress found herself at the center of a furious controversy when she was embroiled in a physical brawl with her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and several other people outside a bar in LA.
According to TMZ, Hickerson, who is on probation until 2025 for domestically abusing the actress in 2018, sparked the bar brawl 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.’
‘That same individual, along with the group he was with, began badgering and shoving Brian, at which point security pushed everyone outside. Brian was attacked by the group, as was Hayden, who in her best effort tried to diffuse the situation,’ the representative said.
At the time, sensational video of the brawl emerged online – first published by TMZ – in which Panettiere, who is just five feet tall, could be heard screaming ‘Brian’ while trying to pull Hickerson away from the fight.
The video picks up on the West Hollywood street outside the hotel with security asking other patrons not involved in the fight to go back inside.
‘I need everyone back in the bar, please,’ an employee said as Hickerson, who was wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, was seen launching toward the group of roughly eight people on the ramp. It appears Hickerson and Panettiere are up against two women – who largely stay out of the fight – and six men. However, the fight is manly between Hickerson and one man.
Security grabbed Hickerson – and pulled him away from the group as Panettiere was seen pointing over an employees shoulder. Someone in the group screamed ‘It’s over, it’s over’ at the stars.
Another male also said: ‘Let’s f**king go, bro,’ while the girl who screamed earlier said: ‘I will f**king [unintelligible] your a**.’
The group eventually moved away from the front door to the street, where fists and feet started flying.
Panettiere mostly stayed near the outer ring of the fight and warningly called her boyfriend’s name. At one point, a man in a brown jacket was still launching himself at Hickerson, causing Panettiere to reach out and grab his jacket to pull him off her boyfriend.
She fell to the ground in the action, alongside two to three other people and the man Panettiere grabbed was seen held in a headlock by Hickerson. Out of the corner of the frame, the actress can be seen being lifted to her feet by what appears to be a bar employee, but she didn’t stay out of the action long, trying to pry her boyfriend from the fight.
Panettiere’s interviews come less than four months after the actress found herself at the center of a furious controversy when she was embroiled in a physical brawl with her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and several other people outside a bar in LA
At the time, sensational video of the brawl emerged online – first published by TMZ – in which Panettiere, who is just five feet tall, could be heard screaming ‘Brian’ while trying to pull Hickerson away from the fight (center)
A woman in a black jacket began pounding Hickerson’s back, screaming hysterically: ‘Get off. Get the f**k off of him, you f**king a**hole.’
Panettiere was seen trying to push people away from her boyfriend on the ground, but only ended up back on the ground, protectively covering the two men. She held one arm to keep attackers away, while calmly saying: ‘Back up, back up, everybody.’
At one point, the Nashville actress could be heard screaming: ‘Brian, jail!’ Hickerson, a convicted felony, is on probation until 2025 for domestic violence charges for attacking the star in 2018.
Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years probation in 2021 after the actress accused him of domestic violence in 2018. He also had to attend 52 domestic violence classes, pay $500 in restitution, and was issued five-year protective order.
He was arrested on multiple felony charges, including corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, two charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and one for intimidating Panettiere. He also faced a misdemeanor charge for battery on a spouse/cohabitant.
Most of his charges were dropped.
He allegedly assaulted Panettiere from December 2019 to January 2020 and the actress obtained a restraining order against him in May 2019, which forbade him from coming within 100 yards of her.
A month later he pleaded not guilty to a count of domestic violence in a case that was later dismissed. He arrested on Valentine’s Day 2020 in Wyoming and was charged with domestic battery after he allegedly punch the actress ‘with a closed fist on the right side of her face.’
She took to Instagram afterward, writing: ‘I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.’ The couple had been broken up at this time.
In July 2021, rumors began to swirl that the couple was rekindling their romance after they were spotted spending time together after he was released from jail.
Hickerson confirmed that they were ‘working on a friendship’ at the time. He said: ‘Hayden and I are not back together.’
The pair were first linked after Panettiere split with her then-fiancé Klitschko, the former two-time heavyweight boxer champion.