Hayden Panettiere returns to the screen, determined to move past her struggles

Throughout her life, Hayden Panettiere has been a fighter.

She made it through being a child actor in the 2000s, when the media treated the lives of young women with obsession, through her early adulthood in the 2010s, when she starred in the popular soap opera “Nashville,” playing a role that mirrored her own issues with postpartum depression and substance abuse, and through the aggressive tabloid coverage of her daughter’s move to Ukraine after her father was granted custody.

Ms. Panettiere ascended the spiral staircase in her living room, where she had a velvet couch, and settled into the lofted area of her home to relax after the picture session. Before her parents divorced, her house was the “last place my complete family had lived together,” she recalled.

Yet she had a hard time on her own. She was thrust into the middle of her parents’ eight-year divorce fight when they split up when she was eighteen. She said that she was torn between her parents and often stayed with either Wladimir Klitschko, an ex-boxer she dated on and off from 2009 to 2018, or by herself.

Yet offstage, she had a tough time. She was thrust into the middle of her parents’ eight-year divorce fight when they split up when she was eighteen. She said that she often felt pressured to choose between her parents and resorted to spending time alone or with ex-boxer Wladimir Klitschko, whom she dated on and off from 2009 until 2018.

Ms. Panettiere said that there came a time when she no longer recognised her reflection in the mirror. She said, “My eyes were yellow,” and physicians later diagnosed her with septic shock and liver failure. She was 27 years old and shook every morning when she woke up, and she needed a full bottle of booze just to get through the day. According to her, she often substituted painkillers for booze.

Ms. Panettiere checked herself back into a rehab facility for eight months in 2021. She has been clean for over two years, has replaced drug use with healthy habits like Peloton cycling and organic cooking, and has erased all but one picture from her time spent in the grips of addiction.

After becoming clean, Ms. Panettiere and Mr. Hickerson rekindled their friendship. Ms. Panettiere referred to him as “baby” many times throughout the picture session. She hesitated before answering the question of whether or not they were dating again, but eventually settled on “There are emotions there, definitely.”

She went on to say that she finds his actions unacceptable. Ms. Panettiere remarked, “He understands he deserves what happened to him.” This referred to his detention and time spent in prison. She is worried about how others would see her for accepting him back into her life, and she said their relationship was “contingent on his continuing on this path of rehabilitation.” She replied, “I did not do any of this lightly.”

If you like what you hear from Hayden Panettiere on “Nashville,” you’ll be delighted to know that she’s considered recording an album. I want to accomplish it someday and do it properly,” she remarked. Ms. Panettiere has said that she would welcome the opportunity to play comedic or action characters.

It’s possible that Ms. Panettiere may show up in the next “Scream” film. She agreed to play Kirby on the condition that her character’s ultimate destiny would be kept unresolved.