Hayden Panettiere tells “Hoda & Jenna” she expected “empathy” for her mental health issues

Hayden Panettiere thought it would be “easier” to talk about her mental health than it turned out.

The 35-year-old actress appeared on “Today with Hoda and Jenna” on Tuesday to promote her new film “Amber Alert” and spoke to hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager about how difficult it has been to share her mental health struggles following the death of her brother Jaden.

“I thought it would be easier,” the “Heroes” star said when Bush Hager asked him how it “felt” to “get a handle on” her mental health and “then talk about it publicly.”

“I thought people had compassion – [that it] would be the only thing there, but I had no idea how my body and mind would react to the grief,” Panettiere added.

“It's crazy what stress and grief and all those hormones coursing through your body can do… I mean, make you faint. My mother, when she was stressed – she'll kill me if I say this – she would get knots on her head.”

She continued: “It comes in many different forms, so no one should be ashamed or judged for it.”

Speaking about the death of her brother, who died suddenly in 2023 at the age of just 28 from an undiagnosed heart condition, Panettiere said she did not think she could cope with the loss.

“I don’t know if I really [processed it],” she confessed. “I think it's something that changes over time. Maybe the five stages of grief are for people who have experienced heartbreak or bad news. Yes, there are five stages, but there's so much more in between.”

“And when you lose someone that you saw in all the important moments of your life, that was right next to you, it just rocks your world,” she said. “It just changes… it changes.”

Panettiere's comments come days after the star released a statement raising concerns about her well-being following a video interview with People magazine in which she appeared to be slurring her speech.

“It's unbelievable that I'm even in this position, but I feel compelled to address it in a place where I won't be criticized for how fast or slow I speak,” Panettiere wrote on Instagram on Monday.

“I hadn't slept for two days before filming because one of my dogs was recovering from emergency surgery. It was an eight-hour shoot, followed by an on-camera interview that was supposed to last an hour.”

“Whether or not I take medication is nobody's business and is between me and my doctor,” Panettiere added, directly addressing online speculation about her health. “I'm doing interviews to promote my new movie because I'm proud of it. The real issue here is the toxicity of social media and a news cycle that is driven by clickbait.”

She continued, “Mental health is so important and I hope those reading this now understand that what you say behind a computer screen can have a detrimental effect on someone. To those of you who have stood by me in the midst of this chaos, I am so grateful. Like I said, I'm not done yet. We all are.”

In her interview with People, Panettiere revealed that she didn't leave her house after her brother's death, partly out of fear of being photographed by paparazzi. She also shared that she gained weight during her grief, saying, “I didn't feel comfortable putting anything on and leaving the house.”

The actress has spoken openly about her mental health issues in the past, talking about her battle with addiction and postnatal depression.