Hayden Panettiere opens up about her past romance with 'Heroes' co-star Milo Ventimiglia
Panettiere said her family knew Ventimiglia well and that her parents would never have allowed the relationship
Hayden Panettiere has spoken candidly about her past relationship with Milo Ventimiglia, her former co-star from the NBC drama Heroes, addressing the nearly 12-year age gap between them with characteristic openness.
Putting herself in her daughter's shoes
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, the 36-year-old actress was asked how she felt about the age difference between herself and Ventimiglia when they were together. Her response drew on her own experience as a mother.
"That's hard. My daughter's 11, so I'm trying to think of how I would feel," she said. "I'm sure she's going to do exactly what Mommy did. I'm ready and prepared for it, but I think it's about the person. I was working with him all the time."
More in common than people assumed
Panettiere went on to explain that despite the disparity in their ages — she was 18 when they met, whilst Ventimiglia was 30 — the pair shared considerably more common ground than observers might have expected.
"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," she said.
Family approval was paramount
The actress was also keen to emphasise that her family's judgement played a decisive role in the relationship being permitted to develop. "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," she said.
How the relationship began and ended
Panettiere and Ventimiglia first crossed paths on the set of Heroes in 2006. The Ice Princess actress dated her co-star for approximately two years before the couple parted ways in 2009.
Panettiere's life today
Hayden Panettiere is now the mother of an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia, whom she shares with her former fiancé, professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko.