Hayden Panettiere Speaks out on ‘Heartbreaking’ Decision to Relinquish Custody of Daughter

Hayden Panettiere recently addressed her experience dealing with custody issues with her ex-partner, sharing the reason that led to her “heartbreaking” decision to relinquish full custody of their daughter. During an appearance on Red Table Talk, Panettiere spoke candidly about her past substance abuse issue, and how that impacted her split from Wladimir Klitschko, a former Ukrainian professional boxer. Over the course of the conversation, the actress revealed that her addiction struggles were ultimately the cause behind her choice to sign over full custody of her daughter, Kaya, but insinuated that she felt the entire situation was approached in an unfair manner.

“If he’d come to me and said, ‘I think because of where you’re at right now and your struggles that you’re having it would be good for her to be over here with me for a while,’ to which if I had probably had enough of a conversation, I would’ve said, ‘Okay. that makes sense,’” Panettiere told hosts Jada Pinkett Smith and Adrienne Norris, and guest host Kelly Osbourne. “I get it. I’ll come there to visit and stuff like that.” This is, unfortunately, not how things transpired. “Because of the way that it was done, it was very upsetting,” she added. “I mean, it was the worst signing those papers, the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever, ever had to do in my life.”

The Scream 4 star went on to explain that the plan, at that time, was that she “go work on myself, I was gonna get better and when I got better then things could change and she could come to me, and I could have my time with her but that didn’t happen.” Panettiere and Klitschko split in 2018, with their daughter going to live with her father in Ukraine while she sought treatment for postpartum depression, as well as alcohol and drug addiction. E! News noted that Panettiere went to rehab for eight months, among other treatments.

Notably, earlier this year, Panettiere spoke with PEOPLE about her. “It was the hardest thing I could do. But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was okay, take care of myself and make sure I could be a good mom to her. And sometimes that means letting go.”

These days, the actress is healthy and happy and working on her career again. She even recently finished filming a new Scream film, in which she reprises her as Kirby Reed. Along with Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott and Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Panettiere’s Kirby is one of the only other notable past Scream figures to survive a showdown with Ghostface. Cox joins Panettiere in the new film — a sequel to Scream (2022) — but it was previously revealed that Campbell will not be appearing in the film.