Hayden Panettiere is talking about her younger brother Jansen’s death. Jansen died last year at 28 from a heart problem doctors didn’t know about before.
In a new interview with People magazine, Hayden opened up about her loss. She said, “He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him. When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”
Jansen’s death came from an enlarged heart and problems with his heart valve. The family shared a statement at the time, saying, “It is with great sorrow we share the tremendous, untimely loss of our beautiful Jansen.”
Hayden’s been through a lot lately. She’s getting back into acting after being away for a while. She also ended an on-and-off relationship and got sober after struggling with drugs and alcohol for years. She went to rehab in early 2020 and again in 2015 while filming “Nashville.” In 2021, she started a 12-step program and trauma therapy.
After Jansen died, things got tough for Hayden. She said there were “horrific paparazzi pictures coming out of Jansen’s funeral” in a very private place. This shocked her and led to anxiety about leaving her house, a condition doctors call agoraphobia.
Hayden also gained weight and didn’t feel good about herself. She said, “I didn’t feel confident to put on clothes and get out of the house.”
To help herself feel better, Hayden started taking long walks with a personal trainer named Marnie Alton. Her publicist introduced them. Hayden found these walks really helped her, calling them “empowering, therapy-like sessions.”
Going through such a big loss has changed how Hayden sees things. She said, “When something that massive has happened to you, you really learn to pick your fights and just not let the little things upset you.”
But Hayden knows the pain of losing Jansen will always be there. She shared, “I will always be heartbroken about it. I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”
Jansen’s heart condition, cardiomegaly, often comes from high blood pressure. Some people with this problem don’t notice any signs, while others might have trouble breathing, an irregular heartbeat, or swelling in their belly or legs.
