In fact, Hayden explained that certain milestones — including Jansen's birthday and the anniversary of his death — could make the loss feel increasingly real.
Grief, she learned, was not a straight line.
The Guilt of an Older Sister
Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of Hayden's story was not simply that she missed Jansen.
It was that she blamed herself.
As his older sister, she believed she should have been able to protect him.
That belief became especially painful because Jansen had struggled with substance use, something Hayden had experienced in her own life.
In a 2026 interview with Us Weekly, Panettiere said she was shocked to learn the extent of Jansen's drug use and felt that, because of her own experiences, she should have understood what he was going through. She also described trying to get him into treatment and working with his therapist to find ways to help him.
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