Hayden Panettiere Shuts Down Ex's Marriage Fantasy With Brutal Honesty

Sometimes a laugh says more than a thousand words. That’s exactly what Hayden Panettiere delivered on Wednesday, May 13, when asked point-blank if she’d ever walk down the aisle with her abusive ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson. The answer was an emphatic no—delivered with a laugh that made clear just how absurd the question felt to her.

The timing couldn’t be more telling. Just hours before Panettiere’s candid response at Los Angeles International Airport, Hickerson had told TMZ that he hadn’t ruled out marriage down the line, admitting he still thinks about it. But he also acknowledged something crucial: that he and Panettiere“probably wouldn’t be good together”if they got back together. So let’s be clear—even he knows this fantasy isn’t happening.

Here’s the context that makes this moment resonate: Panettiere, 36, and Hickerson, 37, were first linked in 2018. By 2019, Hickerson was arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident involving the actress. The charges were dropped, but the pattern didn’t stop. In 2020, he was arrested again for another alleged domestic violence incident with Panettiere. This time, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021. Six other counts—including battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and dissuading a witness—were dismissed. He served 33 days in county jail and was placed on four years of probation.

They broke up after the second incident, and now Panettiere is sharing her full story in her upcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published Tuesday, May 19. In interviews with Us Weekly, she described the experience as“brutal,”“traumatic,”and“emotional.”But she’s reframed it with purpose: using her pain to help others recognize they’re not alone in an abusive relationship and that escape is possible.

That’s the real story here. This isn’t about shutting down a romantic fantasy—it’s about a survivor claiming her narrative and her power. Panettiere’s willingness to be open about what she endured sends a message far louder than any marriage proposal ever could. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.