Hayden Panettiere recently shared her feelings about the loss of her younger brother, Jansen, who passed away at just 28 due to an undiagnosed heart condition. I know, it’s a lot. And to make it even more intense, this tragedy hit just three weeks before the release of Scream 6. As if screaming on-screen wasn’t enough.
Now, in true older sibling form, Hayden said, “He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him.” Translation: she was that big sister—the one who probably gave him wedgies, told him what to do, and would absolutely fight the universe to keep him safe. Losing him, she said, felt like losing “half of my soul.” (And let’s be honest, losing half of your soul sounds like the worst breakup you can imagine, but with no playlist or ice cream to fix it.)
In the days that followed, Hayden had one mission: to stay in the house, away from the world, like a pajama-clad hermit. But did the paparazzi respect her grief? Of course not! They came swooping in like those seagulls that snatch your fries at the beach. “I had to see horrific paparazzi pictures of myself coming out of Jansen’s funeral,” she said, which made her agoraphobia—the fear of leaving the house—kick in. To be fair, who wouldn’t want to hide from cameras after a gut-wrenching loss? Especially when they capture you at your absolute worst—probably wearing sweatpants and sunglasses indoors.
Now, here’s where the body decides to join the chaos party: Hayden said that all the stress and cortisol—the hormone that’s basically like your body’s evil little stress gremlin—made her “balloon out.” And not in a cute, party balloon way. More like a “my clothes are staging a protest” balloon. Suddenly, her wardrobe became a minefield. “I didn’t feel confident enough to put on clothes and get out of the house,” she confessed. Relatable. Very relatable.
But then, as if the universe was like, “Hey, you need a break,” her publicist introduced her to personal trainer Marnie Alton, who apparently has magical powers. These two didn’t just work out—they went on therapeutic walks. Picture this: they’re strolling down a scenic trail, birds chirping, and Hayden is venting her heart out, probably saying things like, “Marnie, why do I have to deal with cortisol AND paparazzi?” And Marnie just nods and listens, like a fitness-loving Yoda.
Hayden said these walks were like “therapy sessions,” and you can practically hear her sigh of relief. Slowly but surely, her body started reacting. And not just in the *“Oh, cool, I’m getting stronger”* kind of way, but in the “I don’t feel like wearing sweatpants to the grocery store anymore” way.
As she put it: “There’s nothing like looking in the mirror and feeling like you look good enough to walk out the door.” That’s right. No more “I’ll just wear this oversized hoodie and pretend I don’t exist” days.
But here’s the real kicker—Hayden knows things won’t ever be the same. Losing her brother is something that will always weigh on her heart. “I will always be heartbroken about it,” she admitted. Cue a collective sniffle. No amount of long walks, therapy sessions, or even beating cortisol at its own game will bring him back.
Still, we can’t help but admire how Hayden’s turning grief into healing—one step, one vent session, and one pair of non-sweatpants at a time.
