Late actress Hayden Panettiere gave private security clear instructions to bar her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson from her Manhattan book tour in May, according to reports detailing her final months. Panettiere died at age 36 in South Carolina on August 16.
Months before her sudden death at a Greenville, South Carolina, residence, Hayden Panettiere took explicit steps to separate herself from Brian Hickerson. The security protocols enacted during her promotional tour for her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May, included direct orders given to her private security team and the Union Square Barnes & Noble in New York City to keep Hickerson off the premises.
Security Measures and Tour Restrictions in New York
When Panettiere kicked off her book tour in New York City on May 19, her team established boundaries to manage public appearances surrounding a memoir that openly detailed the volatile nature of her relationship with Hickerson. According to The New York Times, the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, the first stop of the book tour, was given specific instruction to not let in a man named Brian Hickerson.
Panettiere’s private security had also been given clear instructions
to keep Hickerson away from her during the tour.
These precautions followed years of disturbances. Mia Terrazas, who lived one door down from Hayden’s West Hollywood condo, told TMZ that the HOA posted a warning at the end of August 2025 urging residents not to let Brian into the building and to call cops if he was seen anywhere on the property. Mia told “Inside Edition” that she was “terrified” of Brian and called 911 at least half a dozen times over disturbances at Hayden’s apartment, noting that Brian had been living there for the past two years after Hayden bought the condo following her move from New York. Mia also stated that the HOA took the warning poster down about a week after it went up because she was told Brian was no longer considered a threat.
Events Surrounding the South Carolina Residence and Investigation
Despite the boundaries established earlier in the year, the couple had reconnected after they were spotted together in March at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). They had flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina a day before the actress’s death. On Sunday, August 16, emergency services responded to the Greenville residence where Panettiere was found unresponsive. The actress, best known for her role in NBC’s superhero drama series Heroes and the show Nashville, was pronounced dead after resuscitation efforts by first responders were unsuccessful.
A police report obtained by PEOPLE confirmed that Brian and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the property when emergency services responded. Brian showed police a bag of medication
she was taking, while Zach was “very emotional” as first responders arrived, though Hickerson was not visibly emotional. Officers reported no obvious physical explanation for Hayden being unresponsive. An initial autopsy found no signs of trauma, and a preliminary investigation has ruled out foul play in the sudden death of the actress, who would have turned 37 on August 21.
Panettiere is survived by one daughter, Kaya, 11, whom she welcomed during her longest romantic relationship with boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 50.
History of Legal Battles and Resurfaced Interviews
The relationship between Panettiere and Hickerson began in 2018. Hickerson was arrested in 2020 after cops said he punched Hayden in the face, and he later pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend back in April 2021. He was sentenced to 45 days in county jail and served 13 days the following month. Mia Terrazas noted that Hickerson’s presence and behavior continued even after the court issued a no-contact order.
In a May interview with TMZ, Hickerson spoke candidly and grinned as he discussed the domestic violence incidents that took place during their relationship, and how he felt seeing Panettiere retell the abuse in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which covered her experiences with childhood fame, addiction, motherhood, and domestic abuse.
Authorities have not yet announced a finalized cause and manner of death as the investigation remains open.
Продолжение темы
