Hayden Panettiere reveals she's bisexual

Hayden Panettiere has revealed that she identifies as bisexual.

The Heroes actress opens up about her attraction to both women and men for the first time in her new memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

In an interview with Us Weekly about the book, the 36-year-old explained that she never felt able to reveal her sexuality publicly because it was "never the right time".

"It was either I was too young, and I was being forced to be perfect at all times. I was not encouraged to just be myself," she said. "Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad. I was afraid that if I was honest, it was going to be like me jumping on the bandwagon. It was a very difficult topic to articulate properly. It's sad I had to wait until I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?"

The Heroes star shared that she was "much more into women" than men while growing up, and dated women privately over the years. However, she confessed that she never had "the courage" to get emotionally attached to one.

"It was scary, though, because there were paparazzi always waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere. I had very little privacy," she continued. "I have explored it, but because I hadn't shared this with anybody, I didn't really have the courage to throw myself fully emotionally into it. Because then if I did fall in love, that wasn't something that I wanted to ever have to hide."

When asked how she'd label her sexuality, Panettiere told the publication, "I'm comfortable to confidently say that yes, I am bisexual. I said it! This is the first time I got to say it out loud."

The actress was previously in relationships with her Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia and Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko. She shares an 11-year-old daughter named Kaya with the sportsman, her former fiancé.

This Is Me: A Reckoning will be released on 19 May.