<p id=”par-1_93″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/hayden-panettiere-doctor-warning-drinking-memoir.html/”>Hayden Panettiere’s death</a> shocked fans and co-stars, with several stepping forward to pay tribute to the late star. Several of her former love interests penned tributes to the Heroes actor, who died on August 16. She lived much of her romantic life in public view, from a teenage relationship that unfolded alongside her breakout fame to the on-again, off-again boyfriend she was traveling with the day before her death. In the months before she died, she’d also become more candid than ever about her past. Let’s take a look at who she dated.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-hayden-panettiere-had-a-teenage-romance-with-stephen-colletti”>Hayden Panettiere had a teenage romance with Stephen Colletti</h2>
<p id=”par-2_57″>Hayden Panettiere’s first truly public romance came in 2006, when she stepped out with Laguna Beach star Stephen Colletti. The pair dated for nearly two years after they were introduced by a publicist they were both working with. Their split was mostly amicable and private, with neither really commenting on the end of the romance until recently.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/1280px-Hayden_Panettiere_chaubaby.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Hayden Panettiere is seen at an industry event in 2007″ class=”wp-image-3893119″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Hayden Panettiere | By chaubaby from London, United Kingdom – Hayden Panettiere (“Claire Bennett”), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3193965</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-3_47″>This year, Panettiere commented on her first big love, telling <a href=”https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/hayden-panettiere-details-stephen-colletti-romance-split/”>Us Weekly</a>, “I’m so grateful that he was part of my life, especially when he was.” Hayden was around 16 when she was first linked to Colletti, then 20. He has not spoken publicly about her death.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-made-headlines-when-she-stepped-out-with-milo-ventimiglia”>She made headlines when she stepped out with Milo Ventimiglia</h2>
<p id=”par-4_39″>Following the end of her romance with Stephen Colletti, Panettiere moved on with her Heroes co-star. The duo went public shortly after Panettiere’s 18th birthday. The age gap drew public scrutiny, as Ventimiglia was nearing 30 at the time.</p>
<p id=”par-5_41″>In her memoir, she explained how a close friendship between her and Ventimiglia turned into a mild flirtation before it blossomed into a relationship. They parted ways in 2009. He has not spoken on the death of his former love, either.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-hayden-panettiere-dated-wladimir-klitschko-for-nine-years”>Hayden Panettiere dated Wladimir Klitschko for nine years </h2>
<p id=”par-6_49″>Her longest and most significant relationship was with Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, whom she met at a party in 2008. The two dated on and off for nine years, splitting briefly in 2011 before reconciling and getting engaged in 2013. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/hayden-panettiere-said-daughter-calling-women-mommy-horrifying-to-me.html/”>They welcomed daughter Kaya</a> in December 2014.</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.<br><br>The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.<br><br>She built… <a href=”https://t.co/etL169NOmB”>pic.twitter.com/etL169NOmB</a></p>— Klitschko (@Klitschko) <a href=”https://x.com/Klitschko/status/2089609887076503934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 18, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-7_89″>They split for good in 2018. Klitschko went on to seek full custody of Kaya, raising her in Ukraine, and the two maintained a close friendship, with Panettiere saying in 2019, “We’re still respectful of each other, and we still have that friendship with each other.” He issued a statement following the news of his ex-fiancée’s death via X. In it, he acknowledged her talent, the love they shared, and the life they created together. He closed the statement by writing, “Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-brian-hickerson-was-her-last-and-most-complicated-romance”>Brian Hickerson was her last and most complicated romance </h2>
<p id=”par-8_52″>Panettiere began dating <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/hayden-panettiere-flew-from-los-angeles-to-south-carolina-1-day-before-her-sudden-death.html/”>real estate agent Brian Hickerson</a> in 2018, and the relationship became the most publicly scrutinized of her life due to multiple domestic violence incidents. Hickerson was arrested in 2019 and again in 2020, and pleaded no contest to two felony counts in April 2021, receiving 45 days in jail.</p>
<p id=”par-9_44″>Panettiere spoke out about the abuse publicly, writing on Instagram in 2021, “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.”</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson was at the scene when she died, police say” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vr_yxMUUA6U?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-10_64″>The two officially split in 2022 but remained in close contact in the years after, on and off, as friends and occasionally more. Hickerson was with Panettiere on her final trip, flying with her from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before she died, and he was present, along with his brother Zach, at the Greenville apartment where she went into cardiac arrest.</p>
<p id=”par-11_84″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/hayden-panettiere-prayed-reconciliation-estranged-mom-called-entitled.html/”>Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, </a>broke her silence two days after the death and directed her criticism squarely at Hickerson. “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson,” Vogel told <a href=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hayden-panettieres-mother-shares-first-public-comments-daughters-death-rcna593134″>NBC News</a>, adding that she and Panettiere’s father had been concerned about him for a long time. Vogel said she believed her daughter had “sadly lost her way.” Hickerson has not issued a statement.</p>