Before Milo Ventimiglia, our favorite “Heroes” actress dated a another guy with Italian-sounding name. And for the first time, Hayden Panettiere spoke about their split. The guy in question? Stephen Colletti, a “Laguna Beach” actor whom she had a one-year relationship. Hayden Panettiere broke up with him last September as she needed space. She says that they had parted on amicable terms. She soon dated “Heroes” co-star Milo Ventimiglia after. Hayden Panettiere tells Seventeen magazine,

“I just knew I wanted to breathe. I wanted to be single at the time. It just hit me like a ton of bricks — this is the time I need to be with myself.”

Hayden Panettiere also admits in the interview she was not an easy girlfriend. She shares,

“It takes such a secure person to be with someone like me; it takes so much confidence, it takes so much trust.”