Hayden Panettiere and Jansen were not just siblings; they had been partners in crime since childhood.
They grew up acting together, shared sets in Disney films, and supported each other through every step of careers that began at almost the same time for both of them.
On February 19, 2023, that bond was broken forever. Jansen died in Nyack, New York, at age 28, from an enlarged heart with complications involving the aortic valve.
No one expected it. Before he died, he had spoken openly about his struggle with anxiety and depression, but it was his heart that ultimately betrayed him.
His representative described him as Hayden’s best friend and only brother.
She summed it up in a sentence that still hurts: “I don’t want to live in a world where he doesn’t exist.”
Three years later, those words remain the most honest portrayal of what having him close meant.