Hayden Panettiere Pregnant: What Does It Mean for Nashville Season 3?

Hayden Panettiere is reportedly pregnant with her first child. On Wednesday, US Weekly broke the news that Panettiere and fiancé Wladimir Klitschko are expecting a baby, quoting a source as saying th...
Hayden Panettiere Pregnant: What Does It Mean for Nashville Season 3?
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  • Hayden Panettiere is reportedly pregnant with her first child.

    On Wednesday, US Weekly broke the news that Panettiere and fiancé Wladimir Klitschko are expecting a baby, quoting a source as saying that “Hayden is totally pregnant!”

    Panettiere hasn’t confirmed the report, which comes as no surprise given the fact that she took her time when it came to announcing her engagement to Klitschko.

    In April Panettiere told Parade that she and Klitschko, a heavyweight professional boxer, were postponing their wedding because of the unrest in his native country of Ukraine:

    “Everything that’s happening in Ukraine definitely put a hold on things. But we have time.”

    If the pregnancy reports are true, the couple didn’t apply the same “hold” to having a child that they did to the wedding ceremony.

    And it’s left Nashville fans wondering how the show, which ABC recently renewed for a third season, will handle Panettiere’s pregnancy.

    An obvious option is for show runners to write the pregnancy into the script.

    Season 2 ended with Panettiere’s character Juliette Barnes essentially ruining her relationship with Avery (Jonathan Jackson) by hooking up with record label executive Jeff Fordham (Oliver Hudson.)

    So would the baby be Avery’s or Jeff’s?

    As Zap It points out, Nashville is basically a nighttime soap opera. In keeping with the standards of that genre, the show could sensationalize Juliette’s dalliance with Jeff by having the paternity of her child be in question.

    From there, adoption would be a feasible option, since most viewers would agree that Juliette isn’t exactly mama material at this point on the show.

    Or Avery could forgive Juliette, marry her, and raise the baby with her regardless of who the father is.

    Another option is for Juliette and Avery to take the more traditional marriage-first-pregnancy-second route.

    And if the show runners decide not to write Panettiere’s pregnancy into the script?

    First of all, Juliette could take a leave of absence from the show in the form of an extended vacation, rehab, or an international tour.

    Or the show might follow in Scandal’s footsteps and attempt to hide the pregnancy by outfitting Panettiere in looser-fitting clothing (an option that would be rather out of character for Juliette) and strategically positioning her on set behind furniture, lamps, objets d’art, or extremely large purses.

    Image via Hayden Panettiere, Twitter

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