Heating up! Hayden Panettiere and her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, are going strong.
The couple, who first stepped out together in August, “are getting serious,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “She joined him on a trip from L.A. to South Carolina last week to meet up with his family and friends. They are full steam ahead!”
Panettiere, 29, and the hunky South Carolina native have been seemingly inseparable since they were first spotted holding hands at Craig’s in West Hollywood. They also looked “very happy” at the L.A. screening of Breaking & Exiting in August, and they got “very affectionate” during brunch in New York City earlier this month, two eyewitnesses told Us.
Us confirmed in August that the Nashville actress split from her fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, and has since moved on with Hickerson. A source told Us that the duo had been dating “for a couple of months now” and “they both party together and are having fun.”
Meanwhile, the Heroes alum maintains an amicable relationship with Klitschko, 42, for the sake of their 3-year-old daughter, Kaya. Panettiere and the boxer started dating in 2009. Although they split in 2011, they reunited two years later.
The Bring It On star shut down split rumors in 2016 when she was spotted sans her engagement ring. “Missing rings don’t mean the end of relationships,” she tweeted at the time. “Blessed to be with my beautiful family.”
Klitsche also shared a sweet sentiment about Panettiere back in February 2015. “I’m so happy to have Hayden in my life,” he gushed. “She’s the best mom I could have ever imagined. I’m really happy that I have a child with Hayden. She’s a truly amazing mom.”
