Hayden Panettiere reflects on her four-year abusive relationship with ex Brian Hickerson

Hayden Panettiere recently opened up about her abusive relationship with her on-and-off ex-boyfriend of four years, Brian Hickerson.

“It was a very dark and complicated time in my life, revealed Hayden in a new interview with PEOPLE magazine.

“But a lot of women go through what I went through, and I want people to know it’s OK to ask for help,” she remarked.

Reportedly, the Scream star began dating the real estate agent in 2018 when she was already addicted to opioids and alcohol.

“I wanted to party, I wanted to do everything I wasn’t supposed to do,” recalled the actress.

She added, “Acting was my life, but I felt so bad about myself that I lost trust in myself. And that is very detrimental. The idea of not having a responsibility was very appealing at the time.”

For the unversed, Hickerson was arrested in May 2019 after abusive incident with the Ice Princess actress. Later the charges were dropped, however, he was arrested again in July 2020 for eight charges of domestic violence.

Following his arrest this time, the 32-year-old issued a statement, saying, “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me in 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.”

Hayden reflected on her statement that she released two years ago.

She said, “I still feel the same way. None of it is OK. But I want to make sure that everybody knows that each person who goes through something like that, they're on their own journey. No two things are exactly alike.”