Actress Hayden Panettiere recently opened up about her struggles with alcohol addiction and opioids.
The actress showed off her toned physique on the cover of Women’s Health magazine while sharing that she had to undergo surgery to become a more confident version of herself.
Read on to learn more.
Hayden Panettiere Stuns On The Cover Of Women’s Health Magazine
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The April issue of Women’s Health magazine features Panettiere, who got candid about her struggles with body image and alcohol addiction.
The actress could be seen striking a pose in several steamy photos for the magazine while flaunting her toned body in the process. Panettiere, 33, opted for a rocky beach as the location for the shoot and was seen with an exuberant smile spread across her face.
She wore a black bikini brief in one of the photos and paired it with a cropped, long-sleeved turtleneck top, leaving most of her skin bare.
In another photo, she spotted a white, sleeves-rolled, barely buttoned shirt with her blonde hair lying gracefully on her chest. Panettiere appeared in a third picture in a black-and-white striped top and black bikini briefs with matching earrings.
Hayden Panettiere Had Breast Reduction Surgery
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The actress, who is making her acting comeback after a 4-year break to star in “Scream 6,” revealed during her interview with Women’s Health that she had to undergo surgery to boost her confidence.
She pointed out that going under the knife was a no-brainer for her as she wasn’t confident in her skin, saying, “My body still didn’t feel like it belonged to me.”
To be precise, Panettiere had to go under the knife for breast reduction in November 2022 and has defended her decision to have surgery.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with somebody who wants to tweak something if it makes them feel more confident,” she said. “That’s all I have to say about it. My confidence is back.”
She Used Drugs And Alcohol To ‘Cope’
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The “Racing Stripes” actress openly discussed her struggle with alcohol addiction, which was brought about by postpartum depression, at some point during her interview with the magazine.
According to the publication, Panettiere began using the bottle in 2014, after she had her daughter and suffered “crippling postpartum depression.”
She described her feelings at the time as “extreme hopelessness” and “like all the walls are closing in.”
“I was being told how to be and how to live by so many people in my life,” she said about how the addiction began. “I wanted certain decisions to be my own, and nobody could stop me. What I put in my body was like an act of defiance.”
She revealed that just about the time she struggled with depression and alcohol addiction, pain from a past neck injury resurfaced, making her resort to opioids.
“I was in a lot of pain,” she narrated. “My tolerance got so high so fast that it became a problem.”
Panettiere continued, “I should have gone on antidepressants to cope with the postpartum depression, but you have to find the right one that works for you. They don’t mix well with alcohol, and I wasn’t ready to stop drinking.”
Hayden Panettiere Went To Rehab
The mother of one shared that for her to go past the dark phase of her life and become a better person, she had to go to rehab.
Panettiere revealed that she enrolled in a rehab center to combat the addiction in 2015. “I was the one who put myself in the first treatment center,” she shared. “I was drowning.”
The actress enrolled in a “12-step program” when she celebrated her 30th birthday.
“My body was like, ‘enough,'” she explained. “I hit 30. My face was swollen. I had jaundice. My eyes were yellow. I had to go to a liver specialist. I was holding on to weight that wasn’t normally there. My hair was thin and coming out in clumps.”
She continued, “A big part of my therapy has been living in forgiveness,” adding that “a step in the 12-step program is making amends.”
