Hayden Panettiere is finally feeling safe, confident, and “comfortable” enough to reveal she’s bisexual.
The actress, known for her work on “Heroes,” “Nashville,” and “Scream 4,” opened up about her sexuality in a new interview with Us Weekly.
The interview comes ahead of her upcoming book, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” out May 12. In the memoir, she discusses her attraction to women for the first time.
Why Hayden Panettiere Never Came Out
Speaking with the publication, the 36-year-old star explained why she didn’t come out earlier in her career.
“That’s something about me I was never able to share with the world, because it was just never the right time,” she explained to Us Weekly. “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.”
“Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad,” Panettiere continued. “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.”
While she is “sad,” she waited until now to open up about her sexuality, she added, “but better late than never, right?”
Hayden’s ‘Scary’ Experiences Dating Women
Panettiere was also asked whether she has ever tried dating women in the past, after saying in the book she hasn’t yet fallen in love with one.
“Yeah, I did. It was scary, though, because there were paparazzi always waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere,” Hayden explained. “I had very little privacy. I have dated women. I was much more into women even as a child than I was men.”
“I have explored it, but because I hadn’t shared this with anybody, I didn’t really have the courage to throw myself fully emotionally into it,” she added. “Because then if I did fall in love, that wasn’t something that I wanted to ever have to hide.”
Why She’s Coming Out Now
Panettiere was also asked whether she has a label for her sexuality, confirming she’s bisexual.
“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,” she proudly told the outlet.
“I said it! This is the first time I got to say it out loud,” added Hayden.
Hayden Panettiere’s Dating Past
While Panettiere’s past with women has remained a secret until now, the actress has publicly dated a number of high-profile men.
She was previously linked to “Laguna Beach” star Stephen Colletti, her own “Heroes” costar Milo Ventimiglia, and Harry Morton, before she began dating Wladimir Klitschko in 2009.
Panettiere and Klitschko got engaged in 2013, welcomed daughter Kaya together in 2014, before the pair later split.
She began dating Brian Hickerson in 2019, though their relationship was a tumultuous one.
While they were spotted together by TMZ back in March 2026, sources told the outlet the two were just friends. In their interview with Panettiere, Us Weekly also noted Hickerson was “no longer in [her] life.”
