Hayden Panettiere recalls giving ex Wladimir Klitschko custody of daughter, slamming 'abandonment' claims
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Hayden Panettiere has sensationally shut down accusations of child abandonment.
Appearing on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast this weekend (11 May), the actress recalled the heartache of signing over custody of her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, to her boxer ex, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2018.
Panettiere, 36, claimed the difficult decision had been spurred by a plan to put Kaya first, slamming rumours regarding postpartum depression as false.
She also insisted she hadn't 'abandoned' Kaya due to addiction issues, insisting these claims 'couldn't be further from the truth'.
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"The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be OK with it is heartbreaking," the Nashville star explained.
She also called out the 'misconception' that she was 'forced into treatment' for substance abuse in the past, when, in fact, she had been 'the one who sought it out'.
Panettiere went on to describe herself as a 'mother lion', insisting she'd have 'burnt the world down' for her child.
With this in mind, when Ukrainian sportsman Klitschko, 50, floated the idea of Kaya living with him in Europe while Panettiere sought treatment for drug use, she reportedly agreed immediately that 'it would be best'.
So, despite admitting she 'did not have a good reaction' to the suggestion at first, she made the 'incredibly difficult' decision to relinquish her custody of Kaya, who was two at the time.
"It became this horrible cycle for years of battling depression, anxiety, alcoholism and substance abuse—and me just trying to find my way out of this darkness," the Heroes actress continued.
"By the time I finally got healthy, I felt like it would have been unfair of me to and selfish of me to try to pull her out away from this life that that she had."
Panettiere insisted her relationship with her daughter to this day is 'incredible', claiming she FaceTimes the pre-teen regularly, and often visits her and Klitschko in Europe.
She also claimed Kaya has learned a lot since living with her father, from whom Panettiere split in 2018, after first striking up a romance in 2009, including five languages and horse riding.
"She's got two parents that love her, and I know in my heart that she feels supported," the TV star gushed. "She is happy and healthy mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually."
Panettiere went on to reiterate: "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."