UPDATE: A lawyer for Hayden Panettiere tellsPeoplethat the actress regularly sees her daughter and that Panettiere has not communicated recently with Brian Hickerson.
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Hayden Panettierelives apart from her 4-year-old child as her boyfriend faces charges of abuse, a source tells PEOPLE.
TheNashvilleactress, 29, has beenliving away from her daughter Kayaever since her breakup with the child’s father,Wladimir Klitschko, last August.
“Her life is in flux with her daughter living away, and she has other issues weighing on her mind,” the source says.
Kaya has apparently been living in Ukraine with Klitschko, 43, since last summer. A lawyer for Panettiere tellsPeoplethat the actress and her daughter still see each other “regularly.”
In February, Panettiere went on vacation and shared a photo of Kaya strapped into a car seat. “Sweet moments with sleeping babes,” she wrote.
Panettiere’s relationship with actorBrian Hickersonhas been concerning her family and friends due to his alleged domestic abuse. Thesource told PEOPLE earlier this weekthat her loved ones are “are begging her to straighten up and move ahead” from the aspiring actor, who faces a felony charge in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident.
A lawyer for Panettiere says she and Hickerson have not been in communication recently.
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“She has to get over this guy,” the source explained, adding, “Her friends and family have been worried about her for quite a while, and things seem to have gotten worse. She needs to do some soul-searching… It’s a sad situation.”
A second insider told PEOPLE that their “heart breaks for what Hayden must be going through.”
“Hayden is a wonderful and talented girl who was so happy with her family,” the insider said. “I hope she can wade through whatever has gone wrong and get her life back together.”
Hickerson was charged withone count of felony domestic violenceon May 23 and pleaded not guilty to the charge, a spokesperson for the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.
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Last week, according toRadarOnline, Hickerson appeared in court as a Los Angeles superior judge listened to testimony from the police officer who responded to the domestic violence call on May 2. During the hearing, the judge denied the motion to dismiss criminal charges against Hickerson and declined to consider a lesser misdemeanor charge.
If convicted, Hickerson faces up to four years in prison.
Panettiere’s familyexclusively told PEOPLElast week, “We are hopeful that the judge makes the right decision. It’s an important message in terms of domestic violence for all women.”
If you suspect domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
(This article has been updated since its original publication.)
source: people.com
