The ongoing fight against depression and the grief over her brother’s shocking death after years of heartbreaking rejection left her frustrated with fans who saw her Recent interviews raise concerns, insiders say.
The 35-year-old’s welfare has come under intense scrutiny after footage went viral showing her slurring her speech and starting to talk late in several TV interviews, raising questions about her sobriety.
However, insiders claim that her recent appearances on People and Today with Hoda & Jenna were a result of her “burning the fire at both ends” as she continued to deal with and process multiple past traumas.
Some close to the former Heroes actress, who has openly battled alcohol and opioid addiction, secretly hope that the interviews and subsequent concern will even help her.
“Hayden was on a great high after reprising her role in Scream 6, she was really in a great place,” they told DailyMail.com.
Hayden Panettiere has expressed her frustration at being forced to defend herself after fans raised concerns about a series of interviews in which she “slurred” her words, insiders claim
“She was happy and excited to see how her career would develop after the film’s release, but then everything came crashing down when she lost her brother three weeks before the premiere.”
Panettiere lost her younger and only brother, Jansen Panettiere, in February 2023, after he died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition called cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, at the age of 28.
In addition to grieving for her brother, the actress is also struggling with “alcoholism, terrible fractures and postpartum depression.”
The source added that the mother of one, who has a nine-year-old daughter with her ex-fiancé and boxer Wladimir Klitschko, fell into depression following the death of her brother – something she is “still trying to come out of”.
“She has since admitted she will never get over it,” they heartbreakingly revealed.
“Her mental health has understandably taken a toll and she is so frustrated that fans and others are taking her recent interviews as cause for concern,” they continued.
“She’s tried to take care of herself, but she’s burned the candle at both ends.”
“Every time it seems like she’s getting to a better place, something comes along to knock her down again,” they added.
Panettiere, 35, lost her brother, Jansen Panettiere, in February 2023, after he died suddenly at age 28, due to an undiagnosed heart condition (pictured together in 2013)
A source claimed the actress has been battling ‘alcoholism, horrific breakups, postpartum depression and the death of her brother again’ in recent years
The source claimed that Panettiere is currently struggling with her past and is “still trying to figure out the best way to deal with it.”
“She has to do it in public, and that makes it all the more difficult,” they stressed.
Panettiere opened up to People magazine in 2022 about her years-long addiction to opioids and alcohol, saying a member of her team gave her “happy pills” to get her “upbeat” for the red carpet. She was just 15 at the time.
Last year she opened up about how she used alcohol to cope with the postnatal depression she unknowingly suffered after giving birth to Kaya Edokia in 2014, before seeking help the following year.
She described the terrifying time in 2016: ‘It’s like being in a tunnel. You can’t even remember a time when you felt good. You try to think back to a time when you felt good, when you felt positive, when you felt happy, but you can’t. All you see is this enveloping darkness.’
Due to her addiction, she also had to give up custody of her daughter to her then-fiancé Klitschko, with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship for nine years until 2018.
“People close to her are happy that these recent interviews have come to light,” the source said of her past. “They want to make sure that she is loved and that if she needs help, she has an army of people who can help her.”
The Amber Alert actress responded to the controversy surrounding her People cover story in an Instagram post earlier this week, even after her reps defended her sobriety and recovery from opioid addiction and alcohol abuse.
Her addiction forced her to relinquish custody of her daughter to her then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship for nine years (pictured together in 2013)
The Heroes alumnus told People magazine how her brother’s shocking death affected her
In a lengthy caption accompanying a photo of herself standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling screen with her name on it, she said the controversy was “incomprehensible” and that she felt “compelled to say something” about the way she speaks.
The Nashville star explained that she was “exhausted” and hadn’t slept in days due to a pet emergency.
She also noted that grief is different for everyone and that it was “nobody’s business” whether she took medications while coping with her loss.
“It’s incomprehensible that I’m in this situation, but I feel compelled to discuss this in a space where I won’t be criticized for how fast or slow I speak,” she said.
‘I hadn’t slept for two days before filming because one of my dogs was recovering from emergency surgery.’