2023 was supposed to be a very good year for actress Hayden Panettiere.
The Amber Alert star, who for years had struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction, was clean and sober after spending time at an in-patient rehab facility in early 2020. She was also single, coming out of an abusive on-and-off relationship with her ex-boyfriend and was grateful to be back at work on Scream 6.
Then, just three weeks before the film’s premiere in February 2023, the unthinkable happened: Her beloved younger brother Jansen died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition at just 28. Panettiere’s world was shattered.
“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she tells PEOPLE in a new interview for this week’s cover story. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”
Hayden Panettiere (L) and Jansen Panettiere.
Amanda Edwards/Getty
Panettiere, 35, soon decided she didn’t want to leave the house, especially after being followed by…
