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Hayden Panettiere has targeted her former partner Wladimir Klitschko, accusing him of giving her no choice when it came to signing full custody of their daughter Kaya, now seven, in 2018 amid the substance abuse issues of the actress.
The Nashville star, 33, opened up during an upcoming interview on Jada Pinkett Smith’s show Red Table Talk.
Preview the episode, which airs in full on Wednesday but previewed by People magazine, the Heroes alumnus hinted that the former boxing professional — with whom she dated for nine years before breaking up for good in 2018 — caused her to give up on her daughter, calling it “the most heartbreaking thing she’s ever had.” must do’ do in her life.’
Hayden Panettiere accused ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko of not giving her a choice when it came to full custody of their daughter Kaya, now seven, in 2018
The 33-year-old Nashville star sat down with Jada Pinkett Smith and Adrienne Banfield Norris for an upcoming episode of their show Red Table Talk, which premieres this Wednesday.
The Heroes alumnus claimed the former boxing professional caused her to give up on her daughter, calling it “the most heartbreaking thing she’s ever had to do in her life”
“It wasn’t a discussion,” she told presenter Pinkett Smith and her mother, Adrienne Banfield Norris. “Because of the way it was done, it was very disturbing.”
Panettiere previously revealed that she had started abusing drugs and alcohol when she was just 15 years old — and that her addiction spiraled out of control as she struggled with postpartum depression after Kaya’s birth in 2014.
‘If [Klitschko] came up to me and said, “I think it would be good for her to be here with me for a while, because of where you are now and your struggles you have…”‘ she died.
“If I’d probably had enough of a conversation, I’d have said, ‘Okay, that makes sense, I get it, I’m coming over there,’ things like that.
“It was the worst signing of those papers, the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
Panettiere explained that she planned to “work on herself” and once she was “better” she hoped Kaya would go back to dividing her time between both her parents, “but that didn’t happen,” she added. ready. .
Panettiere has claimed that her ex (seen with Kaya in 2020) gave her no choice in this. She said: ‘It wasn’t a discussion, it was very disturbing’
Panettiere (pictured with Kaya in 2017) said, ‘If [Klitschko] had said, “I think because of your struggle it would be good for her to be with me,” I would have said, “Okay, that makes sense”‘
Panettiere previously revealed that she started taking drugs when she was only 15 – and that her addiction spiraled out of control after Kaya’s birth in 2014. Kaya is pictured in 2020
It appears that Kaya still lives with her father, but it is unclear where the couple currently resides during Ukraine’s war with Russia.
After the country was invaded in February, Hayden revealed in an Instagram post that her daughter was “safe and no longer in Ukraine,” but did not specify where they now live.
In July, the former child star, who started acting at the age of five, spoke about her previous battle with addiction. People that it started when she was only 15 – a year before she started filming the hit TV series Heroes.
She claimed that members of her team started giving her “happy pills” at the time in an attempt to make her look “peppy” during interviews.
“I had no idea this wasn’t appropriate, or what door it would open for me when it came to my addiction,” she said.
Panettiere (seen with Kaya in 2020) explained that once she was “better” she hoped Kaya would split her time between both her parents, but said “it didn’t happen.”
It appears that Kaya still lives with her father (pictured in March 2022), but it’s unclear where the couple currently resides during Ukraine’s war with Russia
“As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
Panettiere told the outlet that she did not drink while pregnant with Kaya, but that she fell from the wagon shortly after her daughter was born.
“I got the shakes when I woke up and could only function with a sip of alcohol,” she recalls.
‘[Sending Kaya away] was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But I wanted to be a good mother to her – and sometimes that means letting them go.’
Speak with Good morning Americathe actress also explained that her battle with postpartum depression made her alcoholism all the more difficult to deal with, as she couldn’t see where her substance abuse battles “ended” and where her depression “began.”
“I didn’t have any negative feelings for my child, I just knew I was deeply depressed. And I didn’t know where the alcoholism ended and the postpartum started and I walked myself pretty ragged,” she said.
Panettiere said her abuse battles started at age 15 (pictured) when people on her team gave her “happy pills” to make her “peppy” in interviews
“People around me were more concerned about my alcohol use than ever about postpartum depression.”
She added that many of those around her were quick to pass on her postpartum depression and alcoholism as signs that she was “overly emotional” or acting like “a crazy woman,” which made her feel all the more isolated.
“I felt like I was walking blind and there was no one to support me in the way I needed to be supported,” she added.
And I don’t like to ask for help either. You know, I want to be that strong, stoic woman, but if you’re a… [previously] happy-go-lucky girl… all of a sudden on the floor in a puddle of rubbish and alcohol, you should know something is wrong.’
After Kaya moved to Europe, Panettiere said her alcohol use continued to worsen — to the point where she had to be hospitalized with jaundice.
“Doctors told me my liver would give out,” she recalled to People. “I was no longer a 20-year-old who could bounce right back.”
But when Panettiere realized her life was at stake, she finally found the strength to seek treatment for her addictions and ended up in rehab for eight months.
However, she added to GMA that her experiences in rehab were difficult because she was specifically identified as an alcoholic, rather than someone who also struggled with postpartum depression, which meant she struggled to make herself heard.
“Oh, it was terrible,” she said. “Once you identify the patient as the alcoholic – and not as a girl, a woman going through postpartum depression – they don’t believe anything that comes [out of] your mouth. So even if you’re telling the truth, even if you’re fine, I’ve heard “No,” almost gasless, and said, “No, I wasn’t.”
‘It’s frustrating. It’s heartbreaking. You want to collapse and cry, making you look even worse. But not being believed, I think that for anyone who is not believed – if they speak the truth – is painful.’
Although the actress is now sober, she admitted at the time that her battle is far from over.
‘I am fine [but] it’s a daily struggle, really,” she shared. “I’m grateful to be able to say I’m sober today.”
She also told People: “It’s a daily choice and I always check in with myself. But I’m just so grateful to be a part of this world again, and I’ll never take it for granted again.”