Hayden Panettiere’s Boyfriend Arrested for Domestic Violence

This is really serious. Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was arrested for domestic violence on May 2, In Touch can confirm. He was arrested at 2:25 a.m. and put into custody by the Los Angeles Police Department before being booked into jail at 6:15 a.m.

29-year-old Hickerson’s bail was set at $50,000, according to records obtained by In Touch. He posted bail and was released at 3:15 p.m. Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, told Radar Online she didn’t know about the arrest but wasn’t totally surprised by the incident. “I’m in shock,” she said. “I knew he had an incident with his father and he has a tendency to do that [physical violence],” she revealed. “Never had I thought it would be against Hayden or I would have addressed it sooner. I have addressed many things.”

The Nashville star was reportedly out drinking with her boyfriend in Hollywood on Wednesday, May 1. When they headed back home, they allegedly got into an argument that got physical.

Back in November, a source revealed to Us Weekly that the relationship between the actress and her boyfriend “is not a healthy situation.” While visiting Brian’s family in South Carolina in October, police were called to his father David Hickerson’s house. According to an incident report, David had “what appeared to be blood on his face,” and Hayden, who answered the door, “appeared to be frantic.” David told the cops he fell, but who knows what the real story is.

“Her family and friends are worried about her. Hayden’s been drinking too much and acting out. Wladimir was a calming influence on her. Now that he’s not in the picture, she seems to be losing control,” a source told Life & Style in October.

Hickerson’s Instagram hasn’t been updated since February, so no clues as to what’s going on can be found there. The duo started dating sometime after Panettiere split from her now ex-fiancé and baby daddy, Wladimir Klitschko, in August. What’s gone on behind the scenes in their relationship all these months is anyone’s guess, but we really hope that the actress is safe and hasn’t been dealing with similar incidents behind closed doors all this time.