“I can relate to a lot of stories like alcoholism and postpartum depression. They hit close to home,” she told the magazine.
In addition to her struggle with alcohol abuse, she said she would also take opioids.
“My saving grace is that I can’t get messy while on set and working,” she said. “But things kept getting out of control [off set], And as I got older, drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
At one point, she landed in the hospital and doctors said her liver was “about to pass out.”
“I was in a cycle of self-destruction,” she told People.
After eight months in a rehabilitation center and various other trauma and inpatient treatments, Panettiere, who shares a 7-year-old daughter with her ex, Ukrainian former professional boxer Vladimir Klitschko, is at peace and hopeful about the future.
“I put in a lot of work myself and I had to be incredibly honest, to be honest,” she said.
Klitschko’s brother, Vitaly Klitschko, is the mayor of Kyiv.