Lesley Vogel, the mother of late actress Hayden Panettiere, says her daughter’s relationship with Brian Hickerson led to their estrangement just months before Panettiere’s death.
Vogel said she had traveled to California about a year earlier to stay with Panettiere and support her as she attempted to distance herself from Hickerson. According to Vogel, Panettiere later told her she intended to resume their relationship.
Vogel said she could not continue the relationship with her daughter in the same way while Panettiere remained with Hickerson, advice she said was given by her therapist. That ultimatum led to the pair becoming estranged for roughly a year, according to Vogel.
She maintained that her decision to distance herself was not motivated by a lack of love for Panettiere, but by her belief that she needed to protect herself while setting boundaries.
Hickerson was previously convicted in a domestic-violence case involving Panettiere, and a five-year restraining order was issued against him in 2021. Panettiere later wrote about their relationship and her experiences with abuse in her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning."
Panettiere's relationship with her mother had been complicated for years. The late actress in her memoir also wrote about the difficulties of having Vogel serve both as her mother and manager. The actress described painful aspects of their relationship and claimed that Vogel had told her, “You owe me,” after Panettiere fired her as her manager at 19.
Vogel, however, disputed her daughter’s story, telling ABC: “I know I didn't say what she said."
Nevertheless, Panettiere said earlier this year that she hoped the door to reconciliation with her mother remained open.
Meanwhile, Vogel described how she wants her daughter to be remembered.
"I want Hayden to be remembered for the talented, you know, beautiful, outgoing, intelligent woman she really was," she said.
Vogel said she felt "numb" after her death. She just lost her other child Jasen in 2023 due to an enlarged heart.
Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, died Aug. 16 at 36 years old. She passed away after being found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, from cardiac arrest. There were no initial signs of trauma or foul play and the circumstances surrounding her death remain under investigation.