Opioids & Alcohol Fears: Hayden Panettiere Could Relapse After Brother's Sudden Death, Friends Worry

Heartbroken Hayden Panettiere is devastated by the sudden death of her younger brother Jansen — and friends fear the recovering addict may relapse on booze and pills to numb her overwhelming grief, RadarOnline.com has learned.

"Hayden is inconsolable," whispered an insider. "Jansen wasn't just her brother. He was her confidant and best friend. They had both been burned by Hollywood and shared the experiences with each other."

As RadarOnline.com reported, the late actor, who'd appeared with his sister in 2011's The Forger, was found lifeless by friends in his Nyack, New York, apartment on February 19.

While the medical examiner has not released a cause of death for the 28-year-old artist, who suffered from anxiety and depression, the Panettiere family claimed he passed away from an enlarged heart.

Hayden, 33, has shared her struggle to overcome postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter, Kaya, fathered by retired boxer Wladimir Klitschko. The Nashville alum even gave up custody as she battled a life-threatening addiction to opioids and alcohol.

Now, Jansen's tragic end is yet another blow for the petite beauty, said a source who fears it could "undo all the hard work she put into her sobriety."

Hayden came clean about her secret addiction in 2022.

"This hasn't been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs," the actress revealed 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."

Hayden said she began taking "happy pills" when she was just 15 years old.

"My saving grace is that I couldn't be messy while on set and working," the Heroes alum said. "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."

Hayden finally sought help after she wound up in the hospital.

Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.

"Doctors told me my liver was going to give out," she recalled. "I was no longer a 20-year-old who could just bounce right back."

Hayden revealed that being sober was still a struggle. "It's an everyday choice, and I'm checking in with myself all the time," she admitted at the time, adding weight to her friends' fears that she could relapse following her brother's death.

RadarOnline.com has reached out to the actress' rep for comment.