Hayden Panettiere opens up about rapid weight gain after the death of her younger brother - admitting she 'hated' the way she looked

Hayden Panettiere got emotional as she opened up about her rapid weight gain after the sudden loss of her brother - admitting that she 'lived in sweatpants' and 'unflattering' T-shirts because she 'hated' the way she looked and was terrified to leave the house.

The actress' younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, passed away in February 2023 from 'an enlarged heart.'

Now, the Heroes alum, 35, spoke about how his shock death impacted her to People magazine, explaining that it felt like she 'lost half of her soul.'

She also revealed that the 'stress' from his passing resulted in her body 'ballooning out,' which left her in a 'really bad' and 'destructive' place.

'When my little brother passed away my body did something I've never really seen it do before,' she said.

'Within days, I basically ballooned out. I know stress and cortisol running through your body can do that.'

The star said she 'tried everything' to shed the pounds but, no matter what she did, she couldn't lose weight. 

'I tried everything, everything unhealthy, everything healthy,' she continued. 'It didn't matter what I ate, it didn't matter what I did. 

'My body was just like protecting itself, shielding itself from the world.' 

Hayden said she began to get so self conscious about the way that she looked she developed agoraphobia - a fear of going outside. 

'I lived in sweatpants and a T-shirt, things that swallowed me up and were not flattering on me,' she recalled. 

'It took me so long to pick out an outfit that I felt comfortable enough in to leave the house just to go meet up with my friends.

'It became this really bad, destructive hamster wheel of like, do I feel good enough to go out? I don't feel confident enough to but if I don't go out and I don't keep moving then I'm never going to move away from looking like this.'

Hayden said she couldn't even work because she 'didn't want to go to fittings and look at herself in the mirror and hate everything that she saw on herself.'

Eventually, the blonde beauty said her publicist got her in touch with personal trainer Marnie Alton, who changed everything for her.

She said she 'always hated working out,' but that Marnie's approach gave her a newfound love of exercise. 

'It's not a boot camp [with Marnie], it's not somebody yelling at you, leaving you feeling disappointed in yourself,' she dished.

'She became a friend and a life coach. It's not easy for someone in my position to trust people, especially people I haven't known for a very long time. 

'But she earned my trust and I told her I would confide in her and confess everything.

'She knew how to make you feel empowered.'

While reflecting on her brother's death, Hayden admitted that one year on, she still feels like she'll never 'get over the loss of him.' 

'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,' she said as she held back tears. 

'I remember saying to somebody, "Don't ever, ever expect me to get over the loss of him." 

'Because no matter how many years go by, it will always be beside me and I will always be heartbroken about it. I will never be able to get over it.'

She added that losing him taught her not to 'let the little things upset her.' 

'When something that massive has happened to you, you really learn to pick your fights and not let the little things upset you,' she said. 

'Once something so horrific, so deep, and so catastrophic happens in your life, there's not much that can really rock you.'

Jansen passed away in February 2023 at age 28 after he was found 'unresponsive' by friends in his apartment in Nyack, New York.

Afterwards, sources told DailyMail.com that he previously struggled with drug addiction, and had gone to rehab a year before his shock death.

Neighbors recalled how Jansen would often return to his apartment in the early hours of the morning looking 'wasted' and 'shabbily dressed.'

They said the 28-year-old seemed to have sobered up after completing a stint in rehab last year, before falling off the wagon again in recent months. 

Afterwards, his family said in a statement that he had died 'from an enlarged heart.'

As a child, Jansen dabbled in acting like his sister, starring in Disney's Tiger Cruise, the 2005 sports comedy Racing Stripes, and the drama The Perfect Game.

Later, he stepped away from the movie industry to pursue a career as an artist.