Hayden Panettiere has described relinquishing custody of her daughter Kaya as the “most heartbreaking thing” she has ever had to do. The 33-year-old actress, known for her role in Heroes, spoke candidly about the experience on Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk.
In a clip shared ahead of the episode, Panettiere explained that the decision for her daughter to live with her ex, former boxer Wladimir Klitschko, was not initially a discussion. She said: “If [Klitschko] had come to me and said… it would be good for her to be over here with me for a while… I would’ve said okay… but because of the way it actually played out, it was very upsetting.”
Panettiere said signing the papers to give full custody to Klitschko was “the worst” and “the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do in my life”. She had hoped to work on herself and eventually have her daughter return to her, but that “didn’t happen”.
The actress, who has been open about her struggle with addiction to alcohol and pills, said the decision for Kaya to live with her father in Ukraine was made in 2018. In a previous interview with People magazine, she called it “the hardest thing I could do, but the best thing for my daughter”. Panettiere, now sober, said she and Kaya remain close, describing her as “an amazing child” who “still loves me”.
Panettiere also spoke about the impact of postpartum depression and opioid addiction on her parenting, saying she “didn’t want to spend any time with her” at one point. She credited trauma therapy and inpatient treatment for helping her become sober.
