Hayden Panettiere's Family 'Begging' Her To Leave After Reports BF Has Hit Her Multiple Times

Is Hayden Panettiere in danger? Her family sure seems to think so.

We told you last week how the Nashville star’s family is “hopeful” Brian Hickerson gets the book thrown at him for his alleged act of domestic violence.

According to a source speaking to People, they aren’t just seeking a solution from the courts; they’re going after the ongoing problem, which is that Hayden is still with this guy!!!

The insider says her fam are trying to talk her into leaving him, saying loved ones “are begging her to straighten up and move ahead.”

“It is totally out of control and she has to get over this guy.”

Unfortunately the situation has not gotten better. The insider continues:

“Her friends and family have been worried about her for quite a while, and things seem to have gotten worse. She needs to do some soul-searching. For whatever reason, she continues this relationship, but it has done nothing but take her down lower. It’s a sad situation.”

Sad indeed.

And so frustrating from the outside, we can’t imagine what it must be like for family to watch!

Hayden Panettiere with little brother Jansen. / (c) WENN

Back in May, Hickerson was charged with a felony after police were called to investigate a domestic dispute and found what looked like the evidence of physical violence.

An LAPD officer testified at a hearing last week:

“Right off the bat, I noticed that she had bruising on her eyelids, a swollen face. She did have marks on her neck, the left side. When I continued to talk to her she removed the sweater that she had on. I saw bruising on both her arms.”

The officer said Hayden admitted there had been two prior incidents before this time, leading the judge to completely reject Hickerson’s request to drop the charge to a misdemeanor.

It’s not looking good for Brian as far as the legal ramifications.

However, Hayden, who has reportedly been with the aspiring actor for about nine months now, since shortly after her split from boxer baby daddy Wladimir Klitschko, has apparently put her man on probation.

So is there any hope she’ll leave?

The insider says it’s all in Hayden’s hands:

“Hayden needs to surround herself with different types of people and get a hand on both her personal and professional life. It’s hard to imagine things getting any worse, but they could.”

Unfortunately it’s not that hard to imagine.

These situations only get worse over time, and we’ve seen countless examples of it over the years. Abusers don’t suddenly get better. And frankly, Hayden isn’t her super-powered Heroes character. One day there could easily be an injury she doesn’t heal from.

We just hope she figures that out before it’s too late.

[Image via WENN/Brian Hickerson/Instagram.]