Hayden Panettiere’s dating history includes a former costar and boxing champion.
Panettiere made headlines for her romance with Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia due to their 12-year age gap. The pair dated from 2007 to 2009.
Following her split from Ventimiglia, she met Wladimir Klitschko. The actress and the boxer dated on and off from 2009 to 2018. The exes welcomed daughter Kaya in 2014.
In May 2026, Panettiere officially came out as bisexual and exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about her past experience dating women.
“It was always scary, because my life, I mean, there were paparazzi always outside, waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere,” she told Us. “I had very little privacy, and I mean, I have dated women. It started at a very, very young age.”
Keep scrolling for an inside look at Panettiere’s dating history:
Stephen Colletti
Panettiere and the Laguna Beach alum had a brief romance in the early 2000s. They dated at the height of their respective teen fame and attended multiple events together.
“I’m so grateful that he was part of my life, especially when he was,” Panettiere said of Colletti in her May 2026 Us cover story. “Because when I was with him was when I started having to deal with paparazzi and tabloids and being the focal point of them.”
Panettiere expressed her gratitude for Colletti being “very protective” of her during that time.
“He never appeared to be [or] came off as a bad guy,” Panettiere told Us. “So I knew that there was a way to protect yourself and put up boundaries without being offensive or rude.”
The Nashville alum also shared that her and Colletti’s split was “peaceful and kind.”
“We just ended up going our separate ways, there wasn’t really a story there,” she said. “Like, no drama.”
Milo Ventimiglia
Panettiere and Ventimiglia met while filming their hit show Heroes, which aired for four seasons from 2006 to 2019. The pair officially started dating in 2007.
“I saw him as my partner and that it was going to hopefully keep going and evolving and lead to marriage,” Panettiere said of her relationship with Ventimiglia in a May 2026 interview with Us. “It was a point of contention that I was unable to put the ‘I’ in front of ‘love you’ and at the time, I didn’t realize or understand why it made me feel so uncomfortable. I could only say ‘love you’ in a casual way. Being older, he was much more aware of what that meant. And that said a lot.”
The actress revealed that she and Ventimiglia had broken up at one point but briefly got back together when Panettiere had a hard time digesting the news.
“One hundred percent it was only because I was over the toilet, hysterically crying. It was like my world had crumbled. It was so out of left field, nothing that big or explosive had happened. Nothing had really gone wrong. Nobody cheated,” she said. “I remember the look on his face being pure shock at how visceral and massive my negative reaction was, and he immediately took it back.”
The twosome called it quits for good in 2009.
Wladimir Klitschko
After her split from Ventimiglia, Panettiere met Klitschko while attending a book launch party. Panettiere and the athlete dated on and off before getting engaged in 2013. The following year, they welcomed daughter Kaya. The pair called off their engagement and split in 2018.
The exes have since maintained a close friendship as they coparent Kaya while living on different continents. (Panettiere resides in Los Angeles while Klitschko is from Ukraine.)
“Wlad is an incredible father, and I know he was doing what he felt was best for our daughter. Living on separate continents made our arrangement even more challenging,” Panettiere told Us in May 2026. “Despite how I felt, it was important to always put her first.” (Panettiere relinquished full custody of Kaya to Klitschko amid her struggles with postpartum depression.)
Scotty McKnight
While Panettiere and Klitschko were on a break, the actress had a brief romance with the football player. Panettiere and McKnight reportedly met via mutual friends in 2011. They broke up the following year.
Brian Hickerson
Following her 2018 split from Klitschko, Panettiere started dating Hickerson. During their relationship, Hickerson was charged with several felony domestic violence charges against Panettiere. After multiple arrests, Hickerson was ordered to stay away from Panettiere, served 33 days in prison, was placed on four years probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine. Panettiere and Hickerson broke up following his arrest.
“Getting an abusive person out of your life is like trying to rip a weed out that is so entangled into your life,” Panettiere exclusively told Us about the challenging time in a May 2026 interview. “Every time you pull it out, another weed pops back up and you’re like, ‘I thought I killed this.’ They always manage to find a way to slither back into your life, even if you’re an incredibly strong-willed person.”
