Years after giving up custody of her daughter, Kaya, Scream actress Hayden Panettiere opens up about her tough parenting decision.
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While appearing on the On Purpose podcast on Monday, Panettiere denied the allegation that she was “abandoning” her daughter when she signed over custody to her former fiancé, retired professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, amid her struggles with postpartum depression and addiction.
She pointed out that such claims “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be OK with it is heartbreaking,” Panettiere explained.
She also called out the “misconception” that she was forced into treatment, noting it was her own decision to seek it out.
Referring to herself as a “mother lion,” Panettiere stated she would have “burnt the world down” for her daughter. However, when her ex, whom she dated from 2009 to 2018, said “it would be best” for the tween to live in Europe with him while she thought about treatment, the actress said she made the “incredibly difficult” decision to give up custody.
“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,” she explained. “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.”
The Actress Reveals What Kind Of Relationship She Has With Her Daughter Now
Despite being on the other side of the world from each other, Panettiere said she and Kaya have an “incredible relationship. The duo frequently FaceTimes, and she goes to Europe for visits.
“She’s an incredible little girl—so happy, speaks five languages, and rides horses,” the actress declared. “She’s got two parents that love her, and I know in my heart that she feels supported.”
Panettiere then added, “She is happy and healthy mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. She in no way feels abandoned—and that’s something that I’ve made sure to be stay on top of and be very aware of.”
The actress’s new book, This Is Me: A Reckoning, is now in stores.