Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson reportedly traveled to South Carolina after “bad news,” according to Page Six

Hayden Panettiere reportedly reconnected with Brian Hickerson in the weeks before a death associated with him, according to an account published by Page Six on August 18, 2026. The outlet described the reunion as happening roughly two weeks before the star’s death, framing it as a sequence of travel plans that shifted unexpectedly from Los Angeles to South Carolina.

In the Page Six report, an insider told the publication that Hickerson was “supposed to leave” Los Angeles, but that “somehow, they ended up on a flight to South Carolina, where he is from.” The report does not provide additional documentation such as booking details, public statements, or other independently verifiable timelines beyond the account presented to the outlet.

The article characterizes the reconnection as linked to “bad news,” though it does not identify the nature of that news in the summary presented in the Page Six post. It also does not specify whether the “bad news” was health-related, legal, family-related, or connected to the circumstances surrounding the death referenced in the headline.

Page Six’s reporting places the travel and reconnection events close in time to the death, describing them as occurring just weeks beforehand. The report does not offer further context about where the couple was during that period, how long they remained in South Carolina, or whether any representatives for Panettiere or Hickerson commented publicly on the account.

Beyond the timing described by Page Six, the article’s narrative centers on movement and association, focusing on how the pair reportedly managed to travel to Hickerson’s home state even as the plan in Los Angeles was allegedly different. The summary provided does not include statements from law enforcement, medical authorities, or the entertainment industry regarding what happened, who made decisions, or what records exist.

The publication also includes a photo caption indicating that Panettiere and Hickerson were seen walking through an airport terminal, reinforcing the travel component of the story as it was reported. As with the insider account, the caption and image do not themselves establish causation for the “bad news” or the timing of the death, but they align with the report’s emphasis on a flight to South Carolina.

Because the central claims in the Page Six post rely on a private insider account and do not appear, in the information provided here, to be corroborated with primary documentation or additional reporting, the details should be treated as unconfirmed. Further confirmation would typically come from statements by representatives, official records tied to the death, or additional independent reporting that provides the missing context and substantiation.