Hayden Panettiere’s Ex-Boyfriend Admits He Still Thinks About Marrying Her After Domestic Abuse Arrest

Hayden Panettiere‘s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson is seemingly still holding out hope that they will live happily ever after.

The Nashville alum, 36, is currently promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she addresses her tumultuous on-and-off relationship with the actor.

The pair began dating in 2018, and on Valentine’s Day in 2020, Hickerson was arrested for domestic abuse. After pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021, he was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years’ probation. He also had to take 52 domestic violence classes, per E! News.

In an interview with TMZ’s Charlie Neff shared on Tuesday, May 12, Hickerson explained he and the Ice Princess actress have “a mutual respect” for one another and that he spoke to her about the book the day before the interview.

But there were still details he didn’t want her to share, he admitted. “There’s a story where I was drunk, right? Hayden was standing across the room and I had a phone in my hand and I said, ‘Hayden I’ll give you 10 seconds to run as fast as you can before I throw it at you,’” Hickerson told the outlet.

He also made conflicting remarks, saying he wanted to be with the Bring It On star again but also wanted her to live her life.

“She’ll always hold a special place in my heart and, you know, I hope the same for her,” he remarked. “But yeah, we’re just good buddies.”

After Neff asked whether Hickerson wanted to get back with Panettiere, he said “No,” but when she posed the question, “Do you ever think about one day marrying her?” he responded, “Yeah, of course.”

“Is it something that you think could still happen?” Neff questioned, to which Hickerson admitted, “I hope so — she probably doesn’t think the same way.”

“I think that Hayden is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met in my life, and I would be an idiot not to walk away from her and let her bull rush in her career,” he added. “So, we probably wouldn’t be good together. I’d like to see what she’s going to do with the next like 30 years of her career.”

In 2020, Panettiere’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, alleged to TMZ that Hickerson subjected her to “psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse.”

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” Panettiere told the outler at the time.

“I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

This Is Me: A Reckoning will be out on Tuesday, May 19.