Hayden Panettiere Defends Dating 30-Year-Old Heroes Co-Star Milo Ventimiglia When She Was Only 18!

Hayden Panettiere is defending her past age-gap romance with Milo Ventimiglia!

Perezcious readers may recall that the pair met on the set of the show Heroes in 2006. They soon began dating when she was only 18 years old — and he was 30. Yep, that is a 12-year age gap! And she was still a teen! However, their relationship didn’t go the distance. They broke up in 2009.

Years later, Hayden is looking back at that relationship in her upcoming memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning. But before the book hits shelves on May 19, she took a moment to defend dating Milo in an interview with Entertainment Weekly this week! When asked about her age gap with the Gilmore Girls alum, she replied:

“That’s hard. My daughter’s 11, so I’m trying to think of how I would feel. I’m sure she’s going to do exactly what Mommy did. I’m ready and prepared for it, but I think it’s about the person. I was working with him all the time. My family knew him well. I was also … At 18, I lived so much life that he almost couldn’t count me as being 18. So Milo and I, even though he was 30, had a lot more in common than people might think.”

Hmm. Hayden insisted that if Milo had been “creepy” or “inappropriate,” her parents would have put a stop to the relationship in an instant, though:

“But if it was somebody that was inappropriate, if it came off inappropriate or was somebody that my parents were like, ‘No, this is just a creepy situation,’ then they never would’ve allowed it to happen.”

That’s good! Sadly, not every child star has that kind of protection in Hollywood! Thoughts?? Tell us (below)!

[Image via Vince Maher/MEGA/WENN]