Panettiere and Wladimir broke up for the first time in May 2011 after about two years of dating.
“Even though we’ve decided splitting up is best for both of us, we have an amazing amount of love and respect for each other and remain very close friends,” Panettiere said at the time.
Meanwhile, Wladimir shared, “We had a great time together, but it’s not that easy to manage a relationship between two continents. I have a lot of respect for Hayden as a person and as a friend, and I believe we’ll keep our friendship even after the separation.”
They eventually reconciled and became engaged in October 2013.
However, Panettiere and Wladimir fueled breakup rumors when the Heroes alum was photographed holding hands with Brian Hickerson at a Los Angeles restaurant in August 2018.
Her mother, Lesley Vogel, confirmed the pair’s breakup to Radar, saying, “There are a lot of changes going on in her life. She needs to take a little bit of a break and make some decisions on her own of what she wants to do. So I think she is in a very good place.”
Neither Panettiere nor Wladimir publicly disclosed the exact reason behind their final breakup. However, the former child star soon opened up about the personal struggles she was facing during that period, including postpartum depression and addiction to opioids and alcohol.
“I never had the feeling that I wanted to harm my child, but I didn’t want to spend any time with her,” she told People, noting that her relationship with Wladimir began to deteriorate around the same time.
“He didn’t want to be around me,” she added. “I didn’t want to be around me. But with the opiates and alcohol, I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I’d feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction.”