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Stay up to date with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more

Hayden Panettiere opens up about the physical changes she went through after the death of her younger brother Jansen.

The Scream 6 actress lost her brother in February 2023 at the age of 28. In a statement at the time, their family revealed his cause of death, writing: “While it is of little comfort, the coroner reported that Jansen’s sudden death was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with complications of the aortic valve.”

The actress recently spoke to People for their September cover story, in which she explained that she gained weight as she dealt with the loss of her brother.

“I just burned out,” she told the outlet, noting that she had gained 40 pounds in a short period of time. “It didn’t matter what I did, what I ate. I know that stress and cortisol running through your body can do that. Now I think my body was protecting itself, shielding itself from the world.”

The Heroes alum added that the weight gain made her feel insecure about leaving the house, for fear of being photographed.

“I had to see horrible paparazzi photos of myself coming out of Jansen’s funeral, which was in a very private place, and it was shocking,” the actress said. “I didn’t recognize myself. My agoraphobia came up, which is something I’ve struggled with in the past.”

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Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder that results in the fear or general avoidance of situations that can make a person feel trapped, helpless or ashamed, according to the Mayo Clinic. “For example, you may be afraid of taking public transportation, being in open or enclosed spaces, standing in line or being in a crowd,” the clinic says.

Panettiere explained that her agoraphobia stemmed from being a child actor and being in front of the camera constantly from a young age. “When you grow up in this industry, you’re terrified if you don’t look decent when you walk out the door,” she said.

“It started for me when I was 16, when you were already at an age where you didn’t feel good about your changing body – and you certainly don’t need grown men commenting on (our) insecurities.”

She said her depression worsened after she returned to work in the film industry. Nashville three months after she gave birth to her daughter Kaya.

“No woman should be on camera unless they want to be three months postpartum,” Panettiere said. “I would just stuff every ounce of crap into Spanx, and that was contributing to my depression and what I thought of myself. They say you should talk to yourself like you would talk to your girlfriends, but I was very, very guilty of talking to myself terribly.”

Panettiere has been open in the past about her struggles with substance abuse after giving birth. She told E! News’ The overview in March last year: “I wish I knew about postpartum depression. I wish I knew to look out for it. I just thought there was something seriously wrong with me, so I thought, ‘Fireball will fix this – duh!’ and it didn’t. It does for a while, but then it makes everything worse.”