United Kingdom, May 8 -- Hayden Panettiere has credited her ex-boyfriend Stephen Colletti with helping her navigate fame.

The Heroes actress, 36, dated the Laguna Beach star for nearly two years before parting ways in 2007 and Hayden has revealed Stephen helped her through her early days in the spotlight by sharing all he'd learned from his time working on the MTV reality show.

Hayden told Us Weekly: "I'm so grateful that he was part of my life, especially when he was. Because when I was with him was when I started having to deal with paparazzi and tabloids and being the focal point of them.

"[He] was able to help guide me through that experience and getting used to that ... [He was] very protective of me."

Hayden explained Stephen al...