Hayden Panettiere has credited her ex-boyfriend Stephen Colletti with helping her navigate fame because he shared all he’d learnt while starring on reality TV show Laguna Beach.
Hayden Panettiere has credited her ex-boyfriend Stephen Colletti with helping her navigate fame.
The Heroes actress, 36, dated the Laguna Beach star for nearly two years before parting ways in 2007 and Hayden has revealed Stephen helped her through her early days in the spotlight by sharing all he’d learned from his time working on the MTV reality show.
Hayden told Us Weekly: “I’m so grateful that he was part of my life, especially when he was. Because when I was with him was when I started having to deal with paparazzi and tabloids and being the focal point of them.
“[He] was able to help guide me through that experience and getting used to that … [He was] very protective of me.”
Hayden explained Stephen also handled interviews “very diplomatically” and manage to set boundaries without coming across as rude.
She added: “He never appeared to be [or] came off as a bad guy. So I knew that there was a way to protect yourself and put up boundaries without being offensive or rude.”
When asked about their split, Hayden insisted there was “no drama” and she actually “ran into him for the first time in ages” very recently.
She said: “I think he’s about to become a dad and I’m so happy for him. We don’t keep in touch the way that I wish we did, because he’s such a great guy, but there was no drama.”
Hayden has been looking back over her life recently as she’s been writing her upcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, but she has insisted putting pen to paper has been a “therapeutic experience”.
In an interview with Extra, Hayden said: “I will say, it was a very therapeutic experience. I’ve been writing it for about two years and it’s terrifying all at the same time. I mean it, I put it all out there. I was like, if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna go for it. I’m not gonna hold back.
“I just hope that by sharing my experiences, it can inspire and help other people going through whatever, you know, they’re going through in their lives.”
The Scream star expressed hope that the “warts and all” memoir is a relatable read for all.
Hayden said: “I hope it connects to everyone. I mean, even if we haven’t gone through the exact same thing, human emotions are so layered. We’ve all been through traumatic experiences and we’ve all, you know, we’ve lost people, and we’ve, you know, we’ve fallen on our faces.
“I mean, I have fallen on my face many, many, many times, but it’s about, you know, what you do after you fall on your face, you know, picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and figuring out how to keep on keeping on.”
Hayden Panettiere credits ex-boyfriend with helping her navigate fame
