Hayden Panettiere’s “Nashville” Onscreen Husband Jonathan Jackson Remembers Her as ‘Like Our Own Sister’ After Her Death

Daniel S. LevineThu, August 20, 2026 at 2:33 AM UTC

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Hayden Panettiere and Jonathan Jackson in ‘Nashville’Credit: ABC Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock -

Jonathan Jackson posted an emotional tribute to Hayden Panettiere, who died on Aug. 16 at 36

Jackson played Panettiere’s romantic interest on the country music drama Nashville

In her memoir, Panettiere wrote fondly of Jackson, recalling how she would have dinner with him and his wife when cameras weren’t rolling

Jonathan Jackson, whom Hayden Panettiere considered a close friend on the set of Nashville, published an emotional tribute to his late costar after her death at 36 on Sunday, Aug. 16.

Jackson, 44, played Avery Buckley, an aspiring musician who has a romantic relationship with Panettiere’s Nashville character, pop-country star Juliette Barnes, throughout the series, with their characters eventually marrying. On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Jackson posted an Instagram gallery of photos from their time on Nashville together, alongside his tribute.

“I have no words to express the loss of our beloved Hayden,” Jackson began. “She had such a bright light within her. She was a sensitive soul. Incredibly funny and witty. Amazingly gifted, with a great sense of empathy and compassion.”

Jackson said the two connected as actors who grew up in the industry and shared a “silent knowing of how intense the struggles can be.” He began his onscreen career at 11, first appearing in General Hospital in 1993.

Panettiere “was an absolute joy to work with,” Jackson continued. “Focused, spontaneous and brilliant. The most important thing between friends and coworkers is trust, and we had this.”

Jackson and his wife Lisa “both love and cherish her deeply, like our own sister. She holds that place in our hearts,” the actor wrote. “My prayer for her every day we worked together was that she would know how loved she is, and that she would find the peace that she was looking for.”

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In concluding his post, Jackson said it was “not possible” to express the “shock and grief” so many feel after Panettiere’s death. He went on to offer prayers for her family, writing, “May God’s angels carry you to your place of rest and true peace. We love you Hayden. You will always be in our hearts. Always.”

Panettiere recalled her relationship with Jackson fondly in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. When the cameras weren’t rolling in Nashville, their costars often went their separate ways, but Jackson often invited her to the Franklin, Tenn., home he shared with his wife and their three children at the time for dinner.

Jonathan Jackson and Hayden Panettiere in February 2016Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty

“Not wanting to make the long drive home, I often crashed in their guest room, grateful for a warm bed and a good friend who’d offered it to me,” Panettiere wrote. “But other than Jonathan, I wasn’t close to anyone on set. I couldn’t figure it out. We were all new faces in a strange town, yet we weren’t growing into friends.”

Panettiere died in Greenville, S.C. After completing their autopsy, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said there was “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.” Her body was released to her family on Tuesday, Aug. 18 and her death remains under investigation.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”