Hayden Panettiere comes out as bisexual at 36, says timing was never right

Hayden Panettiere publicly came out as bisexual Tuesday in an interview with Us Weekly, saying the disclosure — tied to the upcoming release of her memoir — marks the first time she has spoken openly about her sexuality.

“That’s something about me I was never able to share with the world, because it was just never the right time,” the actress said. “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.”

Ms. Panettiere, 36, best known for her roles on the NBC series “Heroes” and the ABC/CMT drama “Nashville,” addresses her sexuality in her upcoming memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” scheduled for release May 19.

Writing the book prompted her to share what she had long kept private. “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 said. “I said it. This is the first time I got to say it out loud.”

Ms. Panettiere said she had privately dated women but found it difficult to go public, in part because she feared being dismissed.

“No one ever encouraged me to just be myself, and then it came, the period of time, where it felt like people coming out, especially women coming out, and saying that they were bisexual, or liked girls, was a fad,” she said, adding that she worried coming out would make her appear as if she were “jumping on the bandwagon.”

She also cited fear of professional consequences. “It was always the fear of not being perfect, and what my team was going to think about it, what the public’s opinion was going to be about it,” she said.

The actress said she had little privacy during her years in the spotlight, which made the decision harder.

“There were paparazzi always outside, waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere. I had very little privacy, and I mean, I have dated women. It started at a very, very young age,” she said.

Reflecting on the delay, Ms. Panettiere said she wanted to find the right words. “I wanted to make sure that I really sat down and chose my words carefully and was able to tell my story in an honest way, that people understood. On one hand, it’s sad that I had to wait till I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?” she told ABC News.

The memoir also covers Ms. Panettiere’s childhood in the entertainment industry, a history of drug use and rehab, and a relationship with Brian Hickerson that ended with his arrest for domestic abuse on two occasions. “It was brutal. It was traumatic. It was emotional,” she said of that period.

Ms. Panettiere began her acting career as an infant and later appeared in the NBC superhero drama “Heroes” from 2006 to 2010 before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes in “Nashville” from 2012 to 2018, a role that earned her two Golden Globe nominations. She most recently appeared in “Scream VI” in 2023.