Hayden Panettiere has spoken out for the first time on her romance with Milo Ventimiglia and their 12 year age difference. The 18-year-old actress says that she and Ventimiglia keep their relationship private as they constantly face negative reactions to their age difference.

“It’s nice to be in the same industry. You often get invited to the same things, which is handy! (But) there is no good thing about being a couple in Hollywood,” Panettiere says. “People make their own opinions about everything, and they like to be very judgmental about things they know nothing about.”

“You just have to hope that if you don’t put it out there too much then they will have less to say about it,” she added.

Panettiere and Ventimiglia, 30, met on the set of their hit TV show ‘Heroes.’