When pictures emerged of 19-year-old Heroes star HAYDEN PANETTIERE frolicking on a yacht in Cannes last week with 32-year-old Brit TV presenter STEVE JONES, eyebrows were raised – especially when the age-inappropriate pair began provocatively rubbing sun-cream over each other. But dating an older man is nothing new for the teen starlet – who was recently linked to her 44-year-old co-star ADRIAN PASDAR – as she famously hooked up with her 31-year-old ex MILO VENTIMIGLIA, when she was just 18.

Ahlan! wonders if the super-cute former child star has some serious daddy issues...

Seeking approval
Hayden is the only daughter of ALAN ‘Skip’ PANETTIERE, a notoriously controlling fire officer, who thrust his daughter into the spotlight at an early age. Though Hayden denies her father is the driving force behind her career saying, “My parents have never pushed me into something I didn’t want to do” – she was modelling before she could walk or talk.

“I was eight months old. I did a photo shoot because my mom thought she would get some nice baby pictures out of it,” revealed Hayden. “Then I did my first commercial when I was 11 months old and had a role on a soap opera when I was four. I did two soap operas for seven or eight years...”

But even graduating to movie roles in The Object Of My Affection at the age of eight was not enough. “I’ve always played a lot of sports,” admits Hayden. Adding, “Volleyball, softball, baseball, and I was a gymnast for nine years. Both my parents played a lot of sports, so I did too when I was younger.”

Father figure
With Hayden’s mum, Lesley, and brother Jansen, also in the acting business, Hayden was reportedly never able to get the attention she desired from Skip – even when she landed Heroes. So she soon turned to her co-star Milo to fill the void. Despite the 12-year age gap, their relationship progressed rapidly after they first hooked-up in 2007, with rumours that Milo was even shopping for an engagement ring.

When the pair split earlier this year they blamed “conflicting lifestyles,” but insiders soon revealed Hayden’s youth and immaturity were to blame. But according to the Chicago Times, the real reason for the split was baby-faced Hayden’s reaction to a pregnancy scare. And, highlighting their age-gap further, in the wake of the split, Hayden reportedly tried to get her ex fired from the hit show.

“She is making it difficult for everyone involved... She refuses to be on the set at the same time as [Milo],” spilled a set source.

Strict reign
If Skip was bothered by his teen daughter’s relationship with Milo, he didn’t show it. Refusing to talk about Milo to the press – or be photographed with his daughter’s older lover – Skip vented his frustrations in other ways. Earlier this year – a month before Hayden and Milo split – Skip received two years probation after pleading no contest to misdeamour battery charges, for allegedly hitting his wife. He reportedly hit Lesley on the cheek, leaving a bruise, after a charity benefit last August.

“There was a domestic argument between the mother and father,” Sgt. Scott Wolf of the West Hollywood sheriffs said. “He got upset and struck the mother in the face one or two times on the left cheek which caused some bruising. From what I’m told, he hit her with a closed fist.”

But ever-the-dutiful daughter, Hayden rushed to her father’s defence, publicly claiming, “It was blown way out of proportion by a sheriff who wanted his 15 minutes of fame.”

Married man
In the months following her split from Milo, Hayden stepped out with another older man – this time her 44-year-old married Heroes co-star Adrian Pasdar. With on-set sources claiming Hayden looked up to Adrian “like a father figure,” jaws dropped when the pair were snapped brazenly holding
hands last month.

Seemingly on a roll, Hayden has now hooked-up with playboy presenter Steve Jones – whose previously been linked to Pamela Anderson and Halle Berry. But whether their romance fades faster than their Riviera tans, or whether Hayden finally finds what she is looking for in the 32-year-old Brit remains to be seen...