Hayden Panettiere Did Not 'Just Give Up' her Daughter

"“There's been a common misconception that I just gave up my child, when that couldn't be farther from the truth,” she told Jay Shetty on his podcast, On Purpose With Jay Shetty. “I hope it's a little clearer.” While battling postpartum depression and addiction, Panettiere gave full custody of daughter Kaya to her father, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko. But Paniettiere has always been a presence in Kaya's life. “I have an incredible relationship with her,” she said. “I travel [to see her] as much as I can. We have a really intense, incredible bond, and I'm very grateful for that.”"

"“I was struggling with mental health, anxiety, postpartum and having to act my way through it and feeling like I completely lost myself,” she told Shetty. “The misconception is that I have been forced into treatment when, in fact, I have been the one who has sought it out, who was saying, 'I desperately need help. I know this is going to look terrible, but I cannot live like this anymore.'”"

"After Panettiere and Klitschko separated, Kaya began splitting her time between the U.S. and Ukraine. When she sought treatment, it made the most sense for Kaya to stay with her father permanently. “She had family, she had friends, she had extracurricular activities,” Panettiere said. “She had a beautiful life. She understood the languages and was starting to speak them...So by the time I finally got healthy, I felt it would have been unfair of me and selfish of me to try to pull her away from this life that she had created.”"

Hayden Panettiere addressed misconceptions that she abandoned her daughter when she gave full custody to Wladimir Klitschko during postpartum depression and addiction. She said she maintained a strong relationship with Kaya, traveling to see her as much as possible and describing an intense bond. She linked her recovery challenges to mental health struggles, anxiety, postpartum effects, and the pressure of acting, along with heavy paparazzi scrutiny. She stated she sought treatment herself and felt she needed help to stop living in that condition. After separating from Klitschko, Kaya split time between the U.S. and Ukraine, and treatment led to keeping Kaya with her father permanently due to family, friends, activities, and language familiarity. She reported that Kaya is thriving and that her daughter is doing well now.

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