Hayden Panettiere recalls first time ex-boyfriend hit her in new book

Hayden Panettiere Detailed first time ex-boyfriend Brian Hixon In her debut memoir, This is me: Reckoning.

“I heard it before I felt it, the distinct sound of an open hand,” Panettiere, 36, wrote in the book, which was released on Tuesday, May 19. “There was a burning sensation in my cheeks, like it was on fire. There was a buzzing in my head.”

Before the incident, Panettiere wrote that Hixon screamed in her face. The actress claimed it was anger “like I’ve never seen before”. Panettiere grabbed a nearby matching knife but threw it aside before hitting her.

“None of this happened, at least to me. If I think about it, it’s true. But it’s not real,” Panettiere wrote. “I can be tough and push it away and it’s gone. Pull it up and wipe it off the board and off the tape. I love this guy and this is not him. There’s no way it could be him, not in a million years.”

After the first incident, Panettiere wrote, “the slap turned into a blow.”

“One night he hit me in the face so hard I didn’t leave the house for weeks. Another day he screamed at me and told me to run as far away as I could in five seconds because I needed to be one step ahead before he threw the remote at me,” she claimed. “I thought this was a guy who couldn’t miss it. And he didn’t.”

Panettiere and Hickson First linked in 2018. The following year, he was arrested in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident against the actress. Hixon was charged with felony domestic violence and ordered to stay away from Panettiere. The charges were eventually dropped.

In 2020, he was arrested again for another domestic violence altercation with Panettiere. Hixon ultimately served 33 days in jail, four years of probation and was ordered to pay a $500 fine.

Panettiere wrote that her friends and family were concerned she was “in danger” in her relationship with Hixon.

“What I never told them was that the abuse I suffered was not as bad as the thought of being alone,” she wrote.

Hixon told TMZ He and Panettiere now have a “mutual respect matter” ahead of the book’s publication. “We’re just good friends,” he added, calling “This Is Me” an “incredible” read. Hickson did admit, however, that he asked Panettiere not to include a story in her book.

“There’s a story that I was drunk,” he recalled. “Hayden was standing across from me, I had my phone in my hand, and I said, ‘I’m going to give you 10 seconds to run as fast as you can before I throw the phone to you.'”

Baker reflects her relationship Hickson at her side us weekly cover story, published earlier this month.

“It was brutal. It was traumatic. It was emotional. It was important to me to express that experience correctly,” she said. “I need to believe that this happened for a reason.”

Panettiere continued: “With something so horrible happening, the only thing I can think of to make it all worth it is to let people know they’re not alone and help people.”

This is what I have now launched.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call National Domestic Violence Hotline For confidential support, please call 1-800-799-7233.