HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Hayden Panettiere says her break-up with former "Laguna Beach" star Stephen Colletti last fall had much to do with the young actress finding herself.
"I knew I was at the point where I knew I needed to figure things out," the 18-year-old star tells Seventeen magazine for its April issue. "I needed to learn more about myself because I'm a little confused at the moment. And I don't think I could ever fully give myself to somebody until I do."
"I just knew I wanted to breathe," she continues. "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. It takes such a secure person to be with someone like me — it takes so much confidence; it takes so much trust."
The "Heroes" star admits she learned that when a relationship has run its course a break-up should happen "the second [it] pops into your head," she says.
"Because the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes, for you and the other person," says Panettiere. "And in the end, it just turns into a mess."
Panettiere, who is rumored to be dating her 30-year-old co-star Milo Ventimiglia, admits she has "to be with someone who is very driven" and says she has a better grasp of making a relationship work now.
"I've figured out that the healthiest relationship is where you each have your own life, but they meet at a nice point in the middle," she says. "You want to have your life and you want him to have his life. End of story."
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