Brian Hickerson said he hoped to marry Hayden Panettiere months before her death, Page Six reports

Hayden Panettiere’s death last year has continued to draw new public attention after Page Six reported that Brian Hickerson, who was linked to Panettiere through an on-and-off relationship, spoke about hopes to marry the actress months before she died. The outlet framed the information around interviews and timelines it associated with the couple’s relationship, which began in 2018 and included periodic breakups and reconciliations.

According to Page Six, Hickerson referred to Panettiere as a “good buddy” and described a desire to marry her. The report places those comments in the context of their ongoing relationship, which the outlet said resumed at points after earlier separations. Page Six did not present official court documents or law-enforcement findings in its account, and the marriage-plan discussion is presented as reported statements by Hickerson, not as a verified record of intent recorded in legal filings.

The Page Six account also describes the timing of the couple’s travel prior to Panettiere’s death. The outlet said that Hickerson and Panettiere flew to South Carolina the day before her apparent overdose, an assertion that connects the days immediately preceding her death to their movements. Page Six did not cite a public accident report or toxicology conclusion in the summary described here, so the reporting characterizes the overdose as “apparent.”

Panettiere’s death has involved contested details widely covered by entertainment media, including how authorities characterized the incident and whether all available information supported a single narrative. In this new report, Page Six focuses on the personal and timeline elements, including Hickerson’s comments about marriage and the day-before travel, rather than adding new official determinations from an agency or a coroner’s office.

The relationship backdrop is also part of the new coverage. Page Six described Hickerson and Panettiere as having an on-again, off-again romance that began in 2018. That framing places the reported marriage remarks against a longer history of public appearances and relationship developments, which the outlet says included multiple periods of being together and apart.

Because the new article relies on reporting about private statements and closely held timing, readers and families of missing, seriously ill, or deceased people typically treat these details cautiously until corroborated by official documents such as police reports, coroner findings, or sworn statements. As of this report, the claims described here are attributed to Page Six’s account and to Hickerson’s reported comments, rather than to an official record presented in the material provided.

In the aftermath of such reporting, what typically matters most for public understanding is whether additional information becomes available through official channels. That could include any further public statement from authorities about the circumstances surrounding Panettiere’s death, as well as potential documentation that clarifies timelines and the factual basis for describing her death as an overdose. Until then, the new details appear to shift the public focus from the circumstances of the death alone to the personal plans and final days discussed by Hickerson and reported by Page Six.