Hayden Panettiere’s friends were in the dark about her relationship with on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
The “Scream” actress died from an apparent drug overdose on Sunday, August 16, at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina.
A preliminary autopsy determined “no signs of foul play” in Panettiere’s untimely death.
On Saturday, Panettiere was spotted at LAX airport boarding a flight to Greenville with Hickerson, according to In Touch.
Panettiere and Hickerson were involved in a rocky relationship that included multiple arrests and charges of domestic violence against Hickerson.
According to TMZ, a judge declined to reduce his felony domestic violence charges to misdemeanors.
The judge also shut the door on his request to expunge his criminal record, according to court documents, obtained by TMZ.
The charges stemmed from incidents of domestic abuse against Panettiere dating back to 2019, Page Six reported. In one incident, he punched her in the face with a closed fist at a friend’s house in Wyoming on Valentine’s Day 2019.
Hickerson pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in domestic violence incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020.
He served 33 days in jail, along with four years of probation, mandatory domestic violence classes and a five-year restraining order.
Panettiere, who began abusing drugs at age 15, issued a statement following Hickerson’s 2020 arrest.
“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me in the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said. “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.”
However, TMZ reports Panettiere and Hickerson recently got back together, despite the past incidents of abuse.
She made excuses for him in a 2020 interview with PEOPLE:
“None of it is OK, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that,” she said of his charges. “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.”
She also said her addictive personality made it difficult to escape her relationship with her abusive boyfriend.
TMZ reports Hickerson was with Panettiere when she was found dead in South Carolina.