Hayden Panettiere Speaks Candidly About Her Battle With Alcoholism And Opioids, Says She Was Offered ‘Happy Pills’ At Age 15

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Hayden Panettiere speaks candidly about her addiction to opioids and alcohol in a new interview with People. The “Nashville” actress, 32, spent years battling addiction.

She then suffered postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter Kaya in 2014. “I was on top of the world and I ruined it,” Panettiere tells the magazine. “I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens.” She says of getting help, “I put a lot of work into myself and I had to be willing to be incredibly honest.” READ MORE: Hayden Panettiere Shares Update From Ex-Wladimir Klitschko In Ukraine “This hasn’t been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs,” Panettiere, who shares her daughter with ex Wladimir Klitschko, continues of her journey to sobriety. “But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me.

I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.” Panettiere, who shot to fame at an early age, reveals how she was offered “happy pills” at age 15 to cope with red carpet appearances. “They were to make me peppy during interviews,” Panettiere tells the mag. “I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.” READ MORE: Hayden Panettiere And Brian Hickerson Involved In Fight With A Group Of Patrons Outside Los Angeles Bar She says, “My saving grace is that I couldn’t be messy while on set and working.

But things kept getting out of control [off set]. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without. “Those were really tough years,” Panettiere, whose real-life pregnancy was written into her role of Juliette Barnes on “Nashville” in 2014, admits. “I could