Exclusive

Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend's been hauled off to jail again for allegedly putting hands on her -- this time in Wyoming ... on Valentine's Day.

The ex-"Nashville" star's BF, Brian Hickerson, was arrested around 2:30 AM on Valentine's Day, after the couple had a fight and he struck her "with a closed fist on the right side of her face" ... according to cops.

The Teton County Sheriff's Office was notified of a disturbance at a private residence in Jackson. The caller said an intoxicated male was locked out of the home because he punched his girlfriend in the face.

When deputies arrived, they found Brian in the driveway, and according to docs obtained by TMZ ... he allegedly told them Hayden was in the house "saying he beat the f*** out of me." Cops say he avoided answering if he had punched Hayden, but claimed he hired a private chef to stick around so he "wouldn't be accused of bulls**t."

Cops talked to the chef on the phone, and he said he left a little after 1 AM -- but claims he witnessed the couple arguing earlier in the night.

According to the docs, Hayden told cops she and Brian were in their bedroom when he started throwing her around and punched her. Cops say her face was red and swollen, and she also had a scrape and swelling on her left hand -- which she believed came from Hickerson's watch during the altercation.

The deputies heard enough to book Hickerson for domestic battery. He was also hit with a second charge of interfering with a police officer for allegedly refusing to identify himself.

Play video content NOVEMBER 2019 TMZ.com

When we last spoke with Hayden in November, she told us everything was well between Brian and her -- intimating they'd moved past his felony domestic violence arrest earlier in 2019.

We broke the story ... the couple allegedly got into an altercation at their L.A. home that left red marks on Hayden's body, and police arrested Brian for it. However, the case was later dismissed for not being able to secure a "material witness" -- AKA, Hayden.