Hayden Panettiere reportedly gave security strict instructions. The detail has emerged following her death at age 36. The actress and singer had told security to keep ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson away from her Manhattan book signing.

The incident reportedly happened while the Sleepwalker star was promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. According to The New York Times, her private security team was instructed to prevent Hickerson from entering the Barnes & Noble event.

Hayden Panettiere detailed abuse allegations against Brian Hickerson in her memoir

Panettiere and Hickerson dated on and off from 2018 to 2022. Their relationship included multiple domestic violence incidents, and Hickerson pleaded no contest in 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a significant other. He received a five-year protective order and served 13 days of a 45-day jail sentence after credit for time served.

In This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere opened up about the abuse she said she experienced during their relationship. The 36-year-old wrote, “I never wanted to call myself a victim, but here I am. It’s part of my story whether I want it to be or not.”

The actress also described how violence escalated over time. Panettiere said, “You never forget the first time someone slaps you nor do you forget the last.”

Photo Credit: Brian Hickerson MEGA

Before the memoir’s release, the American actress and singer said she had struggled with the idea of publicly discussing what happened. She said, “I’ve always seen myself as such a resilient and strong woman. The idea that I could allow something like this to happen to me blew my mind.” Panettiere added that the experience was humiliating and that she had tried to protect people she loved.

Hickerson later acknowledged the abuse allegations in a May interview with TMZ. The actor said, “The domestic violence stuff, I think it’s like page 272, my chapter. Everybody should read it.”

Panettiere died in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16. Her cause and manner of death remain pending, with the coroner’s office awaiting further investigation and additional studies.

Hickerson’s attorney previously said the death remains under investigation and that police found no signs of foul play. The attorney declined further comment out of respect for Panettiere’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation.