Hayden Panettiere’s Estranged Mom Explains Why She and the Star Stopped Communicating 1 Year Before Her Death

Hayden Panettiere’s mom Lesley Vogel opened up about what led to their estrangement in a new interview on ‘Good Morning America.’ Vogel expressed her struggles with seeing Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, in her life.

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Lesley Vogel claimed she distanced herself from her daughter Hayden Panettiere after concerns over her relationship with Brian Hickerson in a new interview on Good Morning America

Vogel reflected on noticing the late actress’ struggles beginning in her teenage years during her rise to fame on Heroes

The investigation into Panettiere’s death remains ongoing

Hayden Panettiere‘s mother Lesley Vogel is detailing their estrangement in the year before her sudden death at age 36.

In a new sit-down interview with Good Morning America on Monday, Aug. 24, Vogel said that she went to stay with and help Panettiere a year ago amid her struggles with on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson. Panettiere never publicly shared that she’d reconciled with her mom at any point before her death.

“She knew that Brian was toxic. She knew she had to get him out of her life,” Vogel claimed.

Vogel said she eventually left her daughter and returned to her Florida home after a difficult conversation with the former child star.

“When I got the phone call from her saying, ‘I’m going to be with the person I love,’ and I just lost it,” Vogel recalled. “I could not believe that she had gone that far back. That he had been successful in reeling her back in with all of the things he had done to her.”

Of her distance from Panettiere, Vogel added, “I needed it. I needed to have that pocket of time, of course, I thought it was going to be a pocket of time. I did not by any stretch of the imagination think that this was gonna happen to Hayden. I don’t know why. I just didn’t.”

During Panettiere’s years-long relationship with Hickerson, he was arrested numerous times, on charges including domestic violence in 2019 and 2020. Panettiere later described that period of her life as “very dark and complicated,” as she was privately struggling with addiction to alcohol and opioids.

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The 2019 case was dismissed months after he was charged with one count of felony domestic violence and pleaded not guilty. In 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner, related to the 2020 arrest. Panettiere was granted a five-year protective order against him.

Vogel noted, “I think she struggled and Brian came into her life, she was vulnerable.”

In a 2022 interview with PEOPLE, Panettiere shared that she and Hickerson had reconnected as friends.

“None of it is okay, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that,” she said of Hickerson’s behavior. “But I am open to people who are willing to get help and make amends. He’s gone to treatment and done his time. And I’m trying to live in a place of forgiveness.”

Hickerson and his brother, Zach, were with Panettiere at the time of her death, according to a police report obtained by PEOPLE.

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office previously said in a statement that first responders and Emergency Medical Services had initiated “advanced cardiac life support” measures on Aug. 16. “However, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful,” and Panettiere was pronounced dead at the scene.

A spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department said that “the preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.” In a dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE, officials were heard discussing an “overdose” and “cardiac arrest” around the time of Panettiere’s death. However, no official cause of death has been released.

When first responders arrived, Brian showed police a “bag of medication” the late actress was taking, per the report.

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Coroner Mike Ellis of the Greenville County Coroner’s Office released a statement on Aug. 17, announcing that an autopsy had been completed and that “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”

According to the statement, the investigation of Panettiere’s death “remains active and ongoing.” On Aug. 20, a source told PEOPLE that the DEA joined the investigation into Panettiere’s death.

“Hayden’s death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” Sloan Ellis, an attorney for Brian, told TMZ in a statement on Aug. 20. “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.”

During her GMA interview, Vogel also reflected on her daughter’s transition into her teen years, when she said she first noticed signs of a downward spiral.

“I would say Hayden had a very happy life up until she got Heroes at 16,” Vogel recounted. “Here she was the star of a major TV series, but I would say at 17 I started seeing her going downhill. As she got older and it wasn’t my voice anymore, I wasn’t in charge of her choices. I tried to give her the best advice I could. But again, any young person, teen, they want to be liberated. And I get that.”

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Vogel, whose son Jansen died unexpectedly at age 28 in 2023 from aortic valve complications and an undiagnosed enlarged heart, also had a message for critics.

“I would say to the haters out there, you don’t have a right to tell me how I mourn the loss of my second child. That’s my domain,” she added.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.

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