Hayden Panettiere is opening up a couple of deeply personal decision she needed to make several years ago. While promoting her memoir, she reflected on the challenges she has faced throughout her life, including her alternative to present up custody of her only child. Despite public criticism, the actress stands by her decision and shares the explanations and circumstances that led her to make it.
In an episode of the “On Purpose” podcast with host Jay Shetty, Hayden Panettiere talked about giving up full custody of her only daughter, Kaya, to her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, who lives in Ukraine.
The actress made the custody agreement official in 2018, and it made the rounds on news outlets. Many criticized the actress, accusing her of abandoning her child despite knowing that Panettiere struggled with addiction and postpartum depression.
Within the podcast, the 36-year-old actress said it was “heartbreaking” knowing that some people believed she gave up her daughter so easily. Panettiere also cleared the speculation that she was “forced” into treatment, sharing that it was her decision to hunt help. “I desperately needed help,” she acknowledged.
The Actress Made The Difficult Decision For Her Daughter’s Sake
Panettiere described herself as a “mother lion” and said she would do anything for her daughter. She gave birth to Kaya in December 2014 and separated from Klitschko in August 2018. The ex-partners remained on good terms following the split, and Klitschko filed for full custody of their daughter, knowing that it was what was best for his or her daughter at the moment.
Panettiere was heading into treatment and signed the documents. Nonetheless, she said the choice was “incredibly difficult” to make, but she needed to recover first as a way to be her best self for her daughter. “It became this horrible cycle for years of battling depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and substance abuse and me just trying to search out my way out of this darkness,” she explained.
In an interview with Us Weekly, the actress said that the choice was a “living nightmare,” but she ultimately made the “best” alternative for her daughter at the moment, and that was to stick with Klitschko, whom she described as an “incredible father.”
Hayden Panettiere’s Postpartum Depression
In 2023, the actress opened up about postpartum depression, saying that she didn’t immediately know she was affected by it. It’s quite common for brand spanking new moms to experience mood swings and anxiety days after giving birth, but in some cases, moms have postpartum depression, a more severe case of the “baby blues” that may last months, per the Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms may include mood swings, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and difficulty connecting with the kid, which can affect the mother’s ability to offer proper care to the infant. “I wish I knew about postpartum depression. I wish I knew to look out for it,” Panettiere said, sharing that she drowned her feelings in alcohol, which she admitted was a brief fix that made things worse afterward.
The Actress Hit Rock Bottom And Sought Treatment
Panettiere sought help several times throughout the years, and in 2022, she openly talked about her addiction to alcohol and opioids, on top of her PPD. “I used to be on top of the world and I ruined it. I believe I hit all-time low, but then there’s that trap door that opens,” the actress told PEOPLE.
The “Nashville” actress voluntarily checked into an inpatient treatment program and underwent trauma therapy and said she “put lots of work” into herself. “This hasn’t been easy and there have been lots of ups and downs, but I don’t regret even the ugliest things which have happened to me,” Panettiere said, adding that she’s grateful to have a second probability at life.
Hayden Panettiere Has A Good Relationship With Her Daughter
By the point she was in a greater mental state, the actress said it will have been “unfair and selfish” of her to disrupt the life her daughter had gotten used to. Now, despite their distance, Panettiere said she has an “incredible” relationship with Kaya, talking to her often on FaceTime and visiting her when she will be able to.
She gushed about her daughter, sharing how Kaya speaks several languages and loves horseback riding. Panettiere said her daughter has two loving and supportive parents, and she or he’s sure Kaya is “blissful and healthy mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually” and “no way feels abandoned.”