Hayden Panettiere’s ongoing battle with depression and the grief over her brother’s shock death after years of heartbreaking knockbacks left her frustrated at fans for seeing her recent interviews as cause for concern, insiders claim.
The 35-year-old’s wellbeing was heavily scrutinized after clips showing her slurring her words and experiencing delayed speech in multiple TV interviews went viral, raising questions about her sobriety.
But insiders claim her recent appearances with People and on Today with Hoda & Jenna were a result of her ‘burning the candle at both ends’ while continuing to cope with, and process, multiple past traumas.
Some close to the Heroes alum – who has publicly battled an addiction to alcohol and opioids – are secretly hoping that the interviews, and subsequent concern, will even help her.
‘Hayden was on a tremendous high after reprising her role in Scream 6, she was in a really great place,’ they told the DailyMail.com.
Hayden Panettiere has expressed her frustration at being forced defend herself after fan’s raised concern over a series of interviews in which she was ‘slurring’ her words, insiders claim
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‘She was happy and excited to see where her career would go after the movie came out and then it all came tumbling down when she lost her brother three weeks before the premiere.’
Panettiere lost her younger, and only, sibling, Jansen Panettiere, in February 2023 after he died suddenly due to an undiagnosed heart condition called cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, at 28.
In addition to grieving her brother, the actress has also dealt with ‘alcoholism, horrible breakups and postpartum depression.’
The source added that the mom-of-one, who shares a daughter, nine, with her ex-fiancé and boxer Wladimir Klitschko, fell into depression after her sibling’s death – something she is ‘still trying to get out of.’
‘She has since admitted she will never get over it,’ they heartbreakingly revealed.
‘Her mental health has taken a toll, which is understandable, and she is so frustrated that fans and others are looking over her recent interviews as a cause of concern,’ they continued.
‘She has been trying to take care of herself, but she has really burned the candle from both ends.’
‘Every time it seems she is getting to a better place, something knocks her down,’ they added.
Panettiere, 35, lost her sibling, Jansen Panettiere, in February 2023, after he died suddenly, aged 28, due to an undiagnosed heart condition (pictured together in 2013)
A source claimed the actress has been dealing with ‘alcoholism, horrible breakups, postpartum depression and again, the death of her brother’ in recent years
The source claimed that right now, Panettiere is dealing with her past and ‘still trying to figure out the best way to cope with it.’
‘She has to do it in the public eye which makes it that much harder,’ they pointed out.
Panettiere opened up to People magazine in 2022 about her years-long addiction to opioids and alcohol, revealing a member of her team gave her ‘happy pills’ to make her ‘peppy’ before red carpets when she was only 15 years old.
Last year she recalled how she used alcohol to cope when she was unknowingly struggling with postpartum depression after giving birth to Kaya Edokia in 2014, before seeking treatment the following year.
Describing the terrifying time in 2016, she said: ‘It’s like being in a tunnel. You can’t even remember when you felt good. You try and think back to when you felt good, when you felt positive, when you felt happy, and you can’t. All you see is this enveloping darkness.’
Her addiction also saw her relinquish custody of her daughter to her then-fiancé Klitschko, with whom she had a nine year on-again-off-again relationship until 2018.
‘People close to her are happy that these recent interviews have come to light,’ the source said in relation to her past. ‘They want to make sure she is well loved and that if she needs to get help, she has an army or people who are there to help her.’
The Amber Alert actress addressed the controversy surrounding her People cover story in a post to Instagram earlier in the week, even after her representatives defended her sobriety and recovery from opioid addiction and alcohol abuse.
Her addiction saw her relinquish custody of her daughter to her then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, with whom she had a nine year on-off relationship (pictured together in 2013)
The Heroes alum spoke out about how her brother’s shock death impacted her to People magazine
In a lengthy caption, which accompanied a photo of herself standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling screen with her name plastered across the front, she said the controversy was ‘unfathomable’ and that she felt ‘forced to address’ how she talks.
The Nashville star explained that she was ‘exhausted’ and had not slept in multiple days because of a pet emergency.
She also noted that grief presents differently for each individual and added that it was ‘none of anyone’s business’ whether or not she was on any medication while processing her loss.
‘It’s unfathomable that I’m even in this position, but I feel forced to address it 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 prior to the shoot due to one of my dogs who was recovering from an emergency surgical procedure.’