Brian Hickerson filed for bankruptcy amid ongoing legal troubles
Actor Brian Hickerson filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, listing assets of about $25,700 against $60,000 in liabilities, after multiple domestic-violence arrests involving Hayden Panettiere.
Brian Hickerson, an aspiring actor and former boyfriend of Hayden Panettiere, filed for bankruptcy in July 2022. Court documents show he reported assets of roughly $25,700 and debts of about $60,000. Hickerson listed a 1990 Ford Bronco, an inoperable 2008 Toyota Prius, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a Chevrolet Silverado truck among his possessions, while noting that the truck was owned by his father.
He claimed his monthly expenses were $1,248 but his average monthly income was zero. At the time of filing he had $6,250 in a checking account and owned only an iPhone, a printer, $2,000 in clothing and $100 in jewelry. His debts included nearly $20,000 in credit-card balances and about $18,000 in medical bills. Hickerson said he had recently begun working for a staffing company.
The bankruptcy filing followed a series of domestic-violence incidents involving Panettiere. Hickerson was arrested in May 2019 on felony domestic-violence charges, later ordered to stay 100 yards from Panettiere, and faced additional arrests in September 2019, February 2020, and July 2020. In April 2021 he accepted a plea deal, pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, receiving a sentence of 45 days in jail, four years of probation, mandatory counseling and a five-year restraining order.
"The court sentenced Hickerson to 45 days in county jail, four years of formal probation, 52 mandatory domestic violence classes and a five-year restraining order," the filing indicated.
Hickerson and Panettiere had an on-and-off relationship for four years before ending it in July 2022. Panettiere was found dead in a South Carolina Airbnb on Aug. 16, 2023. Hickerson has not publicly commented on her death.