Lesley Vogel revealed she gave her late daughter Hayden Panettiere a stark ultimatum about Brian Hickerson during their final phone call.
Vogel, Panettiere’s mother, made the disclosure during an interview on “Good Morning America” Monday, explaining that she issued the demand at her therapist’s advice. The 36-year-old “Heroes” alum died after an apparent overdose at a luxury apartment complex in Greenville, SC, on Aug. 16.
“I needed it. I needed to have that pocket of time,” Vogel said of removing Panettiere from her life. “Of course, I thought it was gonna be a pocket of time.”
“I did not by any stretch of the imagination think this was gonna happen to Hayden,” Vogel continued. “I don’t know why. I just didn’t. Maybe I didn’t want to.”
Vogel confirmed she was not speaking to Panettiere in the final months of her daughter’s life. She recalled that when she stayed with Panettiere one year ago, the “Nashville” star allegedly wanted to leave Brian for good.
“She knew that Brian was toxic,” Vogel said. “She knew she had to get him out of her life.”
But Vogel claimed that after six weeks, Panettiere pulled away from her mom, so Vogel returned to her home in Florida. Sometime later, Panettiere called Vogel and told her she was back with Brian.
“When I got the phone call from her saying I’m going to be with the person I love… I just lost it,” Vogel shared. “I could not believe she had gone that far back, that he had been successful in reeling her back in with all the things he had done to her.”
A police report obtained on Aug. 17 revealed that Brian and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were with Panettiere at the time of her death. According to the report, Brian “did not become emotional” until she was officially declared dead. Brian also showed police a “bag of medication” that Panettiere — who struggled with addiction and health issues — was taking at the time of her death, the report claimed.
Since Panettiere’s death, Vogel has been vocal about her animosity toward Brian, who started dating Panettiere in 2018.
“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,” Vogel said on Aug. 18.
Vogel further claimed that Brian pawned some of Panettiere’s belongings, including a vintage guitar, and kept them in a storage unit.
Brian, for his part, spoke out via his lawyer on the loss of Panettiere, defending himself from accusations that he played a role in her death.
“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” his attorney, Sloan Ellis, said in a statement. “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play,” the statement continued. “Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
In the viral moment that preceded this latest revelation, Panettiere and Brian had a tumultuous relationship stretching back to 2018. He was arrested multiple times for domestic violence against the “Remember the Titans” star, and she wrote about his abuse in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” Panettiere allegedly kept some of her friends “in the dark” about reconnecting with Brian before her passing.
Vogel’s “Good Morning America” appearance marks her most detailed account yet of the estrangement that defined her final months with her daughter.