Hayden Panettiere’s mom urged her to end relationship with Brian Hickerson in final phone call
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, has claimed that she asked her daughter to end her relationship with her on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, before her untimely death.
The ‘Nashville’ actress was only 36 when she died on August 16.
Lesley Vogel opens up about last phone call with Hayden Panettiere
In a Monday, August 24, interview with ‘Good Morning America,’ Vogel revealed that during her last phone call with Panettiere, she “lost it” when her actress daughter told her she’s “going to be with the person I love,” leading to the beginning of their estrangement.
EXCLUSIVE: Hayden Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, sits down with @ABC News' @RhiannonAlly to share how she hopes her daughter will be remembered after the actress' death at 36. pic.twitter.com/UZuuQOCECi
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 24, 2026
“I needed it. I needed to have that pocket of time. Of course, I thought it was gonna be a pocket of time,” the grieving mother said of distancing her daughter from herself.
She continued, “I did not by any stretch of the imagination think this was gonna happen to Hayden. I don’t know why. I just didn’t. Maybe I didn’t want to.”
Lesley Vogel claims Hayden Panettiere was aware of Brian Hickerson's toxicity
Further into the interview, Vogel shared that her late daughter “knew that Brian was toxic. She knew she had to get him out of her life,” but she still could not leave him.
“When I got the phone call from her saying I’m going to be with the person I love… I just lost it. I could not believe she had gone that far back, that he had been successful in reeling her back in with all the things he had done to her,” she added.
Lesley Vogel continues to attack Brian Hickerson
Panettiere and Hickerson shared a troubled relationship, with the latter even serving jail time for his behavior during their relationship. He and his brother Zach were reportedly present at the same apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, with the former child actress where she was found dead.
Since Panettiere’s death, Vogel has continued to call out Hickerson. On August 18, she reportedly told NBC, “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson.”
Brian Hickerson’s lawyer says Hayden Panettiere’s death showed ‘no signs of foul play’
While Hickerson did not address Panettiere’s death publicly, his lawyer, Sloan Ellis, shared, “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed.”
The attorney further added, “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
