1 day Ago By BANG - Entertainment News
Hayden Panettiere suffered from agoraphobia after her brother passed away. The 35-year-old actress lost her younger brother Jansen, aged 28, in February 2023, and Hayden has now revealed that the tragedy took a physical toll on her. She told PEOPLE: "I just ballooned out.
It didn't matter what I did, what I ate. I know stress and cortisol running through your body can do that. "Now I think my body was protecting itself, shielding itself from the world.
" Jansen died of an undiagnosed enlarged heart, and Hayden is convinced that his death was the cause of her weight gain. She said: "He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him. "When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul .
.. I will always be heartbroken about [him], I will never be able to get over it.
No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss." Hayden's struggles snowballed and, at one stage, she was barely able to leave her house. The actress shared: "I didn't recognise myself.
My agoraphobia came out, which is something I’ve struggled with in the past." Hayden first found fame as a child, and she's always been very self-conscious about her appearance. The 'Heroes' star - who has also enjoyed success as a singer - said: "Having grown up in this industry, you’re terrified if you don’t look decent when you walk out the door.
"That started happening for me when I was 16, where you’re already at an age where you don’t feel great about your changing body - and you certainly don’t need grown men commenting on [our] insecurities.".
