Hayden Panettiere opened up honestly about her relationship with her daughter Kaya and the painful custody decision she made before her death at 36.
Hayden and former boxer Wladimir Klitschko welcomed Kaya in December 2014.
The couple separated in 2018 and Kaya then started living mainly with her father while Hayden worked through her personal struggles.
The late icon once said that giving up custody was one of the hardest things she had ever faced.
“It was a nightmare. It was a living nightmare, and I felt so out of control. There’s nothing that I could do about it,” she told Us Weekly.
She, however, explained that her struggles made it harder for her to be the mother she wanted to be.
But added that Kaya’s happiness and safety always comes first.
“There’s so much of me that wanted to fight, but I had to ultimately take into consideration the most important thing, which was how this was all going to affect my daughter,” she said.
Hayden also had kind words for Wladimir, calling him “an incredible father” and saying he was doing what he believed was best for their daughter.
She strongly denied that she simply left Kaya behind.
“There’s been a common misconception that I just gave up my child, when that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” she said.
Hayden Panettiere died on August 16 as police are now investigating her death.
2026-08-17 19:22:00
