Megan Pickford, the wife of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, has spoken about her own battle with postpartum depression after sharing her experience just one day before Hayden Panettiere's death was announced on Sunday (August 16).
Megan's emotional tribute
The 30-year-old shared her shock after shedding light on her postpartum battle. The clip featured a plethora of snaps and videos showing Megan with their three children, Arlo, seven, Ostara, two, and Misty, 16 months, alongside a caption: "Important reminder: A lot can change in a year".
She added: "I can't believe I, for some reason, decided to share my experience after being such a private person for so long and the next day woke up to this news..."
Hayden's struggles
Hayden Panettiere tragically died on Sunday (August 16) after being found unresponsive. In the final months of her life, the Hollywood actress, who was best known for her roles in Nashville, Heroes, and Bring It On, had opened up about several battles she'd faced in the release of her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
During her May 2026 appearance on the Jay Shetty Podcast, Hayden shared her brutal honesty about her mental health journey and raising awareness for postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014. The actress had welcomed her only child with then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, but experienced a traumatic delivery that required multiple blood transfusions and surgery.
Afterwards, Hayden struggled with what she described as a "total blackout of emotion" and an inability to form an instant bond with her baby.
Megan's message
Megan's posts were both heartwarming and heartbreaking, as she candidly shared photos of herself crying or looking sad, with a message that read: "When someone is going through PP, and I say 'try not to worry, your spark will come back.'"
After sharing her own video on her Instagram stories, Megan then shared a post from Cupcake Magazine about Hayden and her own depression. The caption on the post read: '[Hayden] talked openly about postpartum depression. Addiction. Alcoholism. Opioids. Trauma. Rehab. Motherhood... Losing custody of her daughter during one of the darkest periods of her life... She didn’t package any of it neatly. She talked about the ugly parts, too. And I think there was tremendous value in that.'
Hayden's custody battle
Hayden's postpartum depression battles made it to the spotlight after it was revealed in 2018 that she had given full custody of her then-three-year-old daughter, Kaya, to her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, who moved her to his native Ukraine.
This came after Hayden fell into a deep depression, which she said made her "feel nothing," led to her "turning to wine," and ultimately being sent to rehab for both depression and substance abuse. During Jay Shetty's podcast, the actress stated: "The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking. It couldn’t be further from the truth... It became this horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse, and just me trying to find my way back."
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