Hayden Panettiere Reflects on Dating Milo Ventimiglia when She was 18 and He was 30 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 05-15-2026, 06:09 PM

Hayden Panettiere Reflects on Dating Milo Ventimiglia when She was 18 and He was 30
by Sarah Hearon
May 15, 2026

Hayden Panettiere is looking back at her past relationship with former "Heroes" costar Milo Ventimiglia with a new life experience.

Panettiere and Ventimiglia, now 48, met on the set of NBC’s "Heroes" in 2006. They dated for nearly two years, starting their romance when she was 18 and he was 30, and called it quits in 2009.

“That's hard. My daughter's 11, so I'm trying to think of how I would feel,” Panettiere, now 36, tells Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive interview about her upcoming book, This Is Me: A Reckoning, when asked about her nearly 12-year age gap with Ventimiglia.

“I'm sure she's going to do exactly what Mommy did,” the actress continues. “I'm ready and prepared for it, but I think it's about the person. I was working with him all the time. My family knew him well. I was also ... At 18, I lived so much life that he almost couldn't count me as being 18. So Milo and I, even though he was 30, had a lot more in common than people might think.”

“But if it was somebody that was inappropriate, if it came off inappropriate or was somebody that my parents were like, ‘No, this is just a creepy situation,’ then they never would've allowed it to happen,” Panettiere adds.

While Panettiere writes positive things about Ventimiglia, their initial breakup was a low point for her. (In the book, she reveals that Ventimiglia ended things but took her back a week later because she was so emotional about the split.)

“One hundred percent it was only because I was over the toilet, hysterically crying,” she said of their brief reconciliation. “It was like my world had crumbled. It was so out of left field, nothing that big or explosive had happened. Nothing had really gone wrong. Nobody cheated. I remember the look on his face being pure shock at how visceral and massive my negative reaction was, and he immediately took it back.”

https://ew.com/hayden-panettiere-dat...at-18-11976138

05-15-2026, 06:09 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,020	Hayden Panettiere Reflects on Dating Milo Ventimiglia when She was 18 and He was 30 Hayden Panettiere Reflects on Dating Milo Ventimiglia when She was 18 and He was 30 by Sarah Hearon May 15, 2026 Hayden Panettiere is looking back at her past relationship with former "Heroes" costar Milo Ventimiglia with a new life experience. Panettiere and Ventimiglia, now 48, met on the set of NBC’s "Heroes" in 2006. They dated for nearly two years, starting their romance when she was 18 and he was 30, and called it quits in 2009. “That's hard. My daughter's 11, so I'm trying to think of how I would feel,” Panettiere, now 36, tells Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive interview about her upcoming book, This Is Me: A Reckoning, when asked about her nearly 12-year age gap with Ventimiglia. “I'm sure she's going to do exactly what Mommy did,” the actress continues. “I'm ready and prepared for it, but I think it's about the person. I was working with him all the time. My family knew him well. I was also ... At 18, I lived so much life that he almost couldn't count me as being 18. So Milo and I, even though he was 30, had a lot more in common than people might think.” “But if it was somebody that was inappropriate, if it came off inappropriate or was somebody that my parents were like, ‘No, this is just a creepy situation,’ then they never would've allowed it to happen,” Panettiere adds. While Panettiere writes positive things about Ventimiglia, their initial breakup was a low point for her. (In the book, she reveals that Ventimiglia ended things but took her back a week later because she was so emotional about the split.) “One hundred percent it was only because I was over the toilet, hysterically crying,” she said of their brief reconciliation. “It was like my world had crumbled. It was so out of left field, nothing that big or explosive had happened. Nothing had really gone wrong. Nobody cheated. I remember the look on his face being pure shock at how visceral and massive my negative reaction was, and he immediately took it back.” https://ew.com/hayden-panettiere-dat...at-18-11976138 Attached Images