Hayden Panettiere will 'always be heartbroken' over her brother's death

Hayden Panettiere has opened up about her brother's death for the first time.

The 35-year-old actress has reflected on the loss of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition in February 2023. He was 28.

"He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him," Hayden told People in a cover story published on Wednesday. "When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul."

Hayden, who battled drug and alcohol addiction in her youth, explained that she struggled to leave her house after Jansen's death.

"I had to see horrific paparazzi pictures of myself coming out of Jansen's funeral, which happened in a very private place, and it was shocking," she said. "My agoraphobia came out, which is something I've struggled with in the past."

The Scream 4 actress then shared that the shock and grief she experienced caused her to gain weight, which affected her self-esteem.

"I didn't feel confident to put on clothes and get out of the house, but I also knew that I needed to get out and keep moving or I'd never stop looking and feeling this way," she told the outlet. "It became a destructive hamster wheel of, do I feel good enough to go out?"

To help her cope with her insecurities and grief, the Bring It On: All or Nothing star began focusing on exercise.

"(Working out) allowed me to release the stress, the high expectations I'd always put on myself," she explained. "There's nothing like looking in the mirror and feeling like you look good enough to walk out the door."

The star then added of her brother's death, "I will always be heartbroken about it. I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss."

Hayden is currently gearing up for the release of her new film Amber Alert, which will hit cinemas on 27 September.