Hayden Panettiere comes out as bisexual – 'Better late than never'

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYWed, May 6, 2026 at 7:29 PM UTC

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Hayden Panettiere is sharing her truth.

The "Nashville" star, 36, came out as bisexual in an interview with Us Weekly published May 6 ahead of the release of her forthcoming memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning."

Panettiere told the outlet that she has dated women and was "much more into women even as a child" than she was men, but it was "just never the right time" to come out before.

"It was either I was too young, and I was being forced to be perfect at all times. I was not encouraged to just be myself," she said. "Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad. I was afraid that if I was honest, it was going to be like me jumping on the bandwagon. It was a very difficult topic to articulate properly. It's sad I had to wait until I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?"

Hayden Panettiere attends the premiere of "Scream VI" in New York on March 6, 2023.

The "Scream VI" star went on to say, when asked to clarify how she identifies, "Now that I know that this book is coming out, and that I've chosen to share it with the world, I'm comfortable to confidently say that yes, I am bisexual. I said it! This is the first time I got to say it out loud."

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Panettiere also told Us Weekly that when she has dated women, it was "scary" because she was always being followed by paparazzi.

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However, she said she has not fallen in love with a woman, explaining that "because I hadn't shared this with anybody, I didn't really have the courage to throw myself fully emotionally into it. Because then if I did fall in love, that wasn't something that I wanted to ever have to hide."

Panettiere welcomed a daughter with her former fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2014. The former couple broke up in 2018. Panettiere has also dated her former "Heroes" costar Milo Ventimiglia, as well as Brian Hickerson. In 2021, Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail on domestic violence charges.

Panettiere told Us Weekly that Hickerson is no longer in her life. "Getting an abusive person out of your life is like trying to rip a weed out that is so entangled into your life, and every time you pull it out another weed pops back up and you're like, I thought I killed this," she said.

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Hayden Panettiere attends Los Angeles premiere of "Blonde" on Sept. 13, 2022.Hayden Panettiere movies and TV show roles

Panettiere is best known for her roles as Claire Bennet on "Heroes," Juliette Barnes on "Nashville," and Kirby Reed in the "Scream" horror movie franchise. After taking a hiatus from acting, she returned to the screen to reprise her role of Kirby in 2023's "Scream VI." Her character was not featured in the slasher franchise's most recent installment, "Scream 7."

Panettiere's memoir "This Is Me: A Reckoning" will be released on May 19.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hayden Panettiere comes out as bisexual, talks dating women

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