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May 12, 2026 11:32am PT
Hayden Panettiere Opens Up About Sexuality, Addiction and Postpartum Depression in New Memoir ‘This Is Me: A Reckoning’
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Hayden Panettiere, who became a household name by her early teens, is opening up about her rise to fame for the first time in a new memoir.
In “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” out May 19, the now 36 year-old actor recounts the traumatizing Hollywood experiences and tabloid scrutiny she experienced through the early-aughts, in addition to candid stories about postpartum depression, addiction and domestic abuse.
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This Is Me: A Reckoning
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One of Panettiere’s more shocking revelations from her book is her memory, from when she was 18 years old, of being lured by friend of hers into a room and told to get in bed with a famous male actor who was naked. She shared the story, which she also recounts in her book, on a recent episode of the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast.
“Even though I felt I could make healthy decisions, safe decisions [at that age], I wasn’t capable of being fully aware of what was going on around me,” Panettiere said. “It wasn’t until I found myself in predicaments that I realized my perspective completely shifted and I realized I was in danger. By the time I realized I was in danger, I was quite literally out to sea.”
In the book, Panettiere also opens up about the “heartbreaking” decision to give up custody over her daughter, her experience with postpartum depression and her struggle with alcoholism — all issues that she says began to mirror the storyline of Juliette Barnes, the troubled singer she was playing on “Nashville” at the time.
In recent weeks, the “Scream VI” and “Heroes” star has been making the press rounds to support the release of her memoir. She publicly came out as bisexual in an interview with US Weekly ahead of the memoir’s publication.
“It was always the fear of not being perfect, and what my team was going to think about it, what the public’s opinion was going to be about it,” Panettiere explained about why it took her years to speak openly about her sexuality. “It was just never the right time, and it was a very difficult topic to articulate properly… It’s sad that I had to wait till I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?”
Pre-order Panettiere’s new memoir here.
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