Hayden Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson has made his first public comments following the star’s death earlier this week.

Hickerson and his brother Zach were both in the apartment complex where the actor went into cardiac arrest and died according to police reports.

“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” Hickerson’s lawyer said in a statement provided to US outlet TMZ overnight Thursday (AEST).

“As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play … Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time,” the statement said.

The Greenville Police Department confirmed on Tuesday (US time), via a heavily redacted report, that it was the Hickerson brothers who made the 911 call over the weekend.

Hickerson, who dated Panettiere on-and-off from 2018, reportedly “did not become emotional” until paramedics officially declared her dead. He spoke with the police about the actor, and showed them “a bag of medications” she had been taking, according to the police report. The names of the medications were redacted.

Hickerson and his brother Zach – who Panettiere also reportedly dated in 2019 – have not been accused of any involvement in Panettiere’s death. A preliminary investigation did not indicate any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances, and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office reported no signs of trauma that would have contributed to her death. The case is still under investigation, and the official cause and manner of Panettiere’s death remains pending.

A lawyer who has represented Hickerson was contacted for comment.

Hickerson’s presence at the scene has brought his turbulent relationship with Panettiere back into the spotlight. The actor detailed several instances of abuse by Hickerson in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, released in May.

The relationship appeared to end in 2020 amid the allegations. During recent interviews to promote her memoir, Panettiere even recounted her efforts to distance herself from an abusive boyfriend. “Abusers – they weave themselves like weeds into your life,” she said on a podcast in May.

Following her death, Panettiere’s estranged mother Lesley Vogel told US outlets that Panettiere was trying to distance herself from Hickerson, but she “lost her way”.

“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 NBC News this week. “I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different … I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.”

Police attended the home of Hickerson’s family on Wednesday (US time), just days after Panettiere went into cardiac arrest. However, the Greenville Police Department said this was a welfare check, and it did not relate to the investigation into the actor’s death. No incident report was required.

Who is Brian Hickerson?

Hickerson is a 37-year-old aspiring actor from South Carolina. His romantic relationship with Panettiere reportedly began in 2018 when they met in West Hollywood. According to Panettiere, their entanglement progressed rapidly, with the pair spending most of their time together, largely unbeknownst to Panettiere’s family members.

However, the Heroes actor details multiple instances in which Hickerson abused her in her memoir. During one particular instance, she said he beat her so badly that she did not leave the house for weeks. Panettiere notes in her book that she did not report the abuse to police to prevent the public from finding out.

According to People magazine, Hickerson was arrested on a domestic violence charge in May 2019, and was charged with felony domestic violence in May. This was then dismissed in September.

On Valentine’s Day in 2020, Panettiere wrote that a night of drinking turned violent when Hickerson pushed her into a wall and slapped her. According to The New York Times, police responded to a call about a disturbance and Hickerson spent the night in jail.

He was charged with seven felony counts, including assault, injuring a spouse or partner, dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime, and misdemeanour battery. He pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring Panettiere.

Hickerson subsequently served a short amount of time in jail, and was sentenced to four years of probation, anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous sessions (which, according to Hickerson, are led by actor Shia LaBeouf).

These requirements have since been fulfilled, and Hickerson recently worked with his legal representative to try and reduce his conviction to misdemeanours. These requests, one of which was made as recently as last week, have so far been denied.

Have they been together since?

Panettiere and Hickerson were seen together several times since the charges were placed.

The pair were seen having a physical fight outside a bar in Los Angeles in 2022, according to People. “None of it is okay, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that,” Panettiere told the magazine at the time. “But I am open to people who are willing to get help and make amends. He’s gone to treatment and done his time. And I’m trying to live in a place of forgiveness.”

Hickerson also attended the funeral of Panettiere’s brother Jansen, who died from an enlarged heart in 2023.

The pair were seen together as recently as March 2026, when they were spotted at the Los Angeles Airport. However, according to The New York Times, Panettiere hired private security that same month to help keep Hickerson away.

What did Panettiere say about their relationship?

In 2022, Panettiere shared her thoughts on their relationship with People. “It was a very dark and complicated time in my life. But a lot of women go through what I went through, and I want people to know it’s okay to ask for help,” she said.

“I am trying to live in a place of understanding. I think [Hickerson] has done his time and was willing to get help. I think about the things I have done in my life that people forgave me for. Making amends is a really important thing that you learn in treatment. And it gives you a lot of inner peace.”

In her memoir, Panettiere was open about her own struggles with alcohol addiction and substance abuse. In 2015, she checked herself into a treatment facility to get professional help for postpartum depression, and in early 2020, she entered an in-patient treatment centre for alcohol and opioid addiction.

She also expressed how she felt while Hickerson was serving time in jail. “I needed him to admit his wrongs and change because of them, but I didn’t want to traumatise him in an irreversible way,” she wrote.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service: 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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