NEWSHayden Panettiere Comes Out as Bisexual as Actress Admits She's Dated Women: 'It Was Scary'
Hayden Panettiere's memoir comes out on May 19.
May 6 2026, Updated 11:06 a.m. ET
Hayden Panettiere is not holding back.
The Nashville star, 36, revealed she is attracted to both men and women in interview published on May 6 ahead of the release of her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which hits bookshelves on May 19.
"Now that I know that this book is coming out, and that I’ve chosen to share it with the world, I’m comfortable to confidently say that yes, I am bisexual," she declared. "I said it! This is the first time I got to say it out loud."
'This is the first time I got to say it out loud,' the actress said.
'I Was Not Encouraged to Just Be Myself'
'Better late than never, right?' she declared.
The Heroes actress told Us Weekly that before now, she felt "it was just never the right time" to come out, explaining, "It was either I was too young, and I was being forced to be perfect at all times. I was not encouraged to just be myself."
She continued, "Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad."
"I was afraid that if I was honest, it was going to be like me jumping on the bandwagon," she shared. "It was a very difficult topic to articulate properly. It’s sad I had to wait until I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?"
'I Was Much More Into Women Even as a Child'
Hayden Panettiere has dated women in her private life.
The Bring It On: All or Nothing star also revealed she has privately dated women, but that her fame made it difficult.
"It was scary," she admitted, "because there were paparazzi always waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere. I had very little privacy. I have dated women. I was much more into women even as a child than I was men."
Panettiere — who has an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, with ex Wladimir Klitschko — said she's "explored it" but "because I hadn’t shared this with anybody, I didn’t really have the courage to throw myself fully emotionally into it."
"Because then if I did fall in love, that wasn’t something that I wanted to ever have to hide," she explained.
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'Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction'
The 'Scream' alum admitted she was hesitant to write a book about her life.
The Remember the Titans actress has been open about struggling with her mental health and past addiction issues, but she was still "terrified" to detail her personal struggles in a book.
"The first thought that went through my head is, ‘Am I ready to write a book about my life?’" she said. "Then I started thinking through my life and going, ‘Gosh, truth is stranger than fiction. I have so many stories already to share.’”
“I hope that by sharing them in this book,” Panettiere added, “that it helps people to overcome the obstacles they’re going through.”
Hayden Panettiere said 'people will be surprised' when they read her book.
In This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere addresses her painful breakups from Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia and her fiancé, former world champion boxer Klitschko.
The Scream star also gets candid about growing up in the public eye, turning to alcohol while suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression, her abusive relationship that made headlines and losing her brother, Jensen — who died at age 28 in February 2023 from an undiagnosed enlarged heart coupled with aortic valve complications.
"I think people will be surprised by what they learn," she said.
