Before her sudden death at 36, Hayden Panettiere had begun speaking more openly than ever about some of the darkest experiences of her life.

One of the most disturbing stories resurfaced following her death this week: an account of an incident she said happened when she was just 18 and still a rising young actress.

During a May interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, Panettiere described how a woman she trusted took her aboard a boat and led her into a small room below deck.

Inside, she said, was an older, “very famous” man who was undressed and waiting in bed.

Panettiere said she was essentially expected to perform sexual acts, despite never having agreed to such an arrangement.

She recalled being shocked by the situation because she had trusted the woman who brought her there. Rather than confronting the man, Panettiere said she fled and attempted to hide elsewhere on the boat.

The actress later included the experience in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in 2026.

For Panettiere, the most painful part was not only what happened on the boat, but the betrayal by someone she believed was protecting her.

“When you really find somebody that you trust, you hold on to them for dear life,” she said in the interview, describing the betrayal as devastating.

Her account has now taken on a much darker meaning following her unexpected death on August 16.

Panettiere was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina. Emergency responders attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 911 dispatch recording referenced both cardiac arrest and a possible overdose. However, authorities have stressed that the official cause of death has not yet been determined. An autopsy reportedly found no signs of trauma contributing to her death, and police have said there are currently no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

Her final months were marked by an unusually candid period in which she spoke about addiction, trauma, motherhood, mental health and surviving difficult chapters of her life.