Hayden Panettiere has decided for the first time to open up about the most painful thing she had to do in her life — give up custody of her only child, daughter Kaya.
Hayden Panettiere hints that she did not have the choice
Actress Hayden Panettiere was a guest on this week’s episode of Red Table Talk. She sat down with the show’s main hosts — Jada Pinkett Smith, and her mother, Adrienne Banfield Norris — and guest-host Kelly Osbourne.
The topic that was laid bare was Panettiere’s pain of relinquishing the full custody of her 7-year-old daughter, Kaya.
She now lives with her father, Ukrainian boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko.
In a clip released to PEOPLE Magazine, the Nashville star, 33, said it was upsetting how it was done because the custody was not up for discussion due to her substance misuse and depression.
She told the hosts: “At first, it was not because it wasn’t a discussion. If [Klitschko] had come to me and said, I think because of where you’re at right now, and your struggles that you’re having, it would be good for her to be over here with me for a while — which if I had probably had enough of a conversation I would’ve said okay that makes sense, I get it, I’ll come there to visit and stuff like that.”
She added: “Because of the way that it was done, it was very upsetting. I mean, it was the worst signing those papers, the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
Hayden Panettiere revealed that she always assumed that her daughter would come to the United States at some point, but that has yet to happen.
She claimed: “I was gonna go work on myself, I was gonna get better, and when I got better, things would change, and she could come to me, and I could have my time with her, but that didn’t happen.”
Hayden Panettiere now accepts that stability is paramount to her daughter’s well-being
The Heroes actress, who said she is sober, now concluded that while it was a difficult decision, it was ultimately the best thing she could have done for her child’s safety and well-being.
She said this about the heartbreaking custody arrangement: “It was the hardest thing I could do. But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was okay, take care of myself, and make sure I could be a good mom to her. And sometimes that means letting go.”
Hayden Panettiere spoke about her substance abuse issues
In 2018, the New York-born singer signed court documents allowing her former fiancé to move to his native Ukraine with their daughter.
At the time, Hayden Panettiere was battling multiple issues, including alcohol addiction. She was also dealing with postpartum depression, which led to a fragile mental state.
Back then, in her own moving words, Hayden Panettiere explained that she was struggling.
Appearing on Good Morning America, she confessed: “I didn’t have any negative feelings towards my child, and I just knew I was deeply depressed. And I didn’t know where the alcoholism was ending, and the postpartum was beginning, and I ran myself pretty ragged. People around me were more concerned about my usage of alcohol than they ever were about the postpartum depression.”
She went to rehab hoping to find the proper help to deal with her situation but had a challenging experience.
She said: “Oh, it was horrible. Once you’re the identified patient as the alcoholic – and not as a girl, a woman going through postpartum depression – then they don’t believe anything that comes [out of] your mouth. So even when you’re telling the truth, even when you’re doing well, I’ve been told “No,” almost gaslit, and told, “No, I wasn’t.”
Hayden Panettiere splits from Brian Hickerson
After Klitschko, she embarked on a complicated romance with Brian Hickerson, but they split in 2020.
That same year, Brian Hickerson was arrested for corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, assault, and intimidating a witness (who was later revealed to be Panettiere).
Wladimir Klitschko and their daughter are fine
In February 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, fans were concerned for Wladimir Klitschko and his child.
Hayden Panettiere revealed in an Instagram post that her former partner and her daughter are safe.
She also explained that the pair no longer live in the war-torn country but did not reveal if they are in the US or in another European country.