Hayden Panettiere and ex Brian Hickerson have seemingly made amends following his 2021 jail stint for domestic violence.
During a recent interview with the New York Times, the actress — who referred to Hickerson as her “babe” — admitted that “there are still feelings there.”
“I did not do any of this lightly,” she said of her decision to get back together with the 32-year-old.
“He knows he deserved what happened to him.”
According to the outlet, Hickerson was at Panettiere’s condo at the time of the interview, with the “Scream VI” star, 33, admitting they reconnected as friends while both trying to get sober.
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Yet now that things have moved out of the friend zone, Panettiere says their relationship is “contingent on him continuing on this road of recovery.”
The pair — who have dated on and off since the summer of 2018 — first sparked reconciliation rumors in November 2022 after being spotted together at LAX.
The “Remember the Titans” star and Hickerson tried to stay incognito while wearing baseball hats and dark clothes before jetting off on vacation for the holidays.
The outing came just three months after Hickerson announced their split, claiming there was no way the exes would ever get back together at the time.
The bold allegation followed years of ups and downs for the couple.
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In 2019, the real estate agent was charged with felony domestic violence after the couple got into an argument following a night of drinking.
Although Hickerson pleaded not guilty, he was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Panettiere and cut off all communication.
The charges were eventually dropped – only for Hickerson to get arrested once again the following year for allegedly punching Panettiere in the face.
He later pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner and was sentenced to 45 days in jail along with four years of probation.
Despite the pair breaking up amid the drama, they were involved in a wild bar brawl in March 2022 after grabbing drinks together outside the Sunset Marquis hotel.
An eyewitness told TMZ at the time that while Hickerson was having it out with another patron, Panettiere was screaming, “Brian, jail,” to remind him of his probation.
Shortly before the pair’s most recent reconciliation, the actress opened up to People about dating in the midst of her alcohol and opioid addiction.
“It was a very dark and complicated time in my life,” she said. “But a lot of women go through what I went through, and I want people to know it’s OK to ask for help.”
She also gave insight into how she was able to forgive Hickerson, saying, “Making amends is a really important thing that you learn in treatment.”
Prior to her relationship with Hickerson, the actress dated Wladimir Klitschko on and off from 2009 to 2018. The pair share 8-year-old daughter Kaya, who lives in Europe with the boxer.
