What to Know
In 2018, actress Hayden Panettiere made an extremely difficult decision. Deep in the throes of anxiety, depression and addiction struggles, she let her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko have full custody of their daughter Kaya. The couple had welcomed their daughter in December 2014, and Panettiere’s world was rocked when she found herself suffering from postpartum depression. She turned to alcohol to numb the pain, thinking of it as the only way she could properly raise her child. But then her problems got too big, and she had no choice but to get better. Now, she’s speaking out about how her choice was perceived.
She is shattering the misconception that she didn’t want to care for her daughter anymore.
“I mean, the idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking. Couldn’t be farther from the truth,” she said while appearing on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast to promote her upcoming memoir.
She explained that she experienced a “horrible cycle” over years while dealing with substance abuse, anxiety, alcoholism, and depression while “trying to find my way back.”
During her time of intense struggle, Panettiere admitted she “completely lost” herself. It prompted Klitschko to ask if then 2-year-old Kaya could live with him full time in Ukraine.
“I did not have a good reaction to it,” she confessed. “I went like mother lion — I would’ve burnt the world down for my child. So that was incredibly difficult.”
Despite not wanting to let her daughter go, Hayden Panettiere couldn’t deny how she was thriving.
During their time apart, Kaya created a “beautiful life” without her.
“So by the time I finally got healthy, I felt like it would have been unfair of me to and selfish of me to try and pull her out and away from this life that she had created,” the mom said.
In addition to a bunch of friends and extracurricular activities, the now 11-year-old Kaya has also taken up horseback riding and speaks five languages.
“I know in my heart that she feels supported,” Panettiere said. “I have an incredible relationship with her,” she said, adding that she travels “as much as I can to see her.” She also added, “I do spend a lot of time on FaceTime with her.”
According to the mom, she and her daughter have a “really intense, incredible bond,” even across all the miles. “She in no way feels abandoned and that’s something that I’ve made sure to stay on top of and be very aware of,” she said.
Panettiere ‘sought out’ treatment for her issues, and people are applauding her for it.
The clip of Hayden Panettiere talking about giving up custody of her daughter made its way over to Reddit, and many people praised her for prioritizing her daughter’s well-being while getting treatment.
“It’s incredibly hard to make the right decision sometimes. Hayden needed help and decided what was best for her child. I applaud her honesty, because this is something that so many parents have to face, and I think she made the right choice despite how others may perceive it,” one person wrote.
“I will never judge a parent for ensuring their children are safe and loved while said parent heals,” another commenter wrote.
“You can tell she is genuinely hurt and has massive amounts of anxiety and grief. I believe her. You can’t just say ‘but what about the baby’ if someone is suicidal and mentally ill and drinking to control it which she was, she did the right thing without question,” another comment read.
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