Here’s Why Hayden Panettiere’s 4-Year-Old Daughter Lives in Ukraine With Her Dad

After a nine-month hiatus, Hayden Panettiere has returned to social media. She shared a tweet and showed off a new hairstyle — she’s rocking a pixie cut these days. The actress/activist may be back to updating her many followers about what’s going on in her life, but there’s one item of interest that may not be mentioned as often: her daughter. Does Hayden Panettiere see her daughter? Here’s what we know.

Hayden first met Wladimir Klitschko in 2009 at a book launch party for their mutual acquaintance Diana Jenkins. They began dating soon after that. In May 2011, Hayden announced that the two had split, citing the struggles of long-distance dating as the root cause. However, in April 2013, Hayden confirmed that she was back together with Wladimir. They announced their engagement later that year.

On Dec. 9, 2014, Hayden gave birth to their daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko. Kaya was born in Hawaii and weighed 7 lbs., 14 oz. “I’m thrilled that I am having a girl first because I feel like I know a lot about raising a strong woman,” she told Hello magazine shortly before Kaya was born. “I feel very empowered myself and I think my daughter will, too.”

In Oct. 2015, Hayden stated that after Kaya’s birth, she had experienced postpartum depression. In October of that year, she voluntarily checked into a treatment facility in order to get help with her postpartum depression (via Us Weekly). In May 2016, she announced on Twitter that she was once again seeking treatment for postpartum depression, which she said had “impacted every aspect of [her] life.”

In 2018, Hayden and Wladimir broke up. Hayden’s mother, Lesley Vogel, told Radar Online at the time: “[I] think there are a lot of changes going on in her life. But I think they’re positive changes. And I think that she’s taking some time.” Lesley said that Hayden and Wladimir were on good terms despite their breakup.

These days, Kaya lives with Wladimir. E! News reported in Aug. 2018 that, according to a source close to the family, “Kaya is primarily with her dad and his family in Europe and Florida. They also spend time together as a family with Hayden.” That seems to be the case — just a month before the couple’s split was announced, they had been seen vacationing together in Greece with Kaya in tow.

While rumors continue to circulate that Hayden doesn’t get to see Kaya very often, that doesn’t appear to be true. Hayden’s lawyer recently told People that mom and daughter get to see each other “regularly,” and prior to her social media hiatus, Hayden had posted pictures of her spending time with Kaya. 

We’re sure that living far apart from Kaya isn’t easy for Hayden, but we applaud her and Wladimir’s efforts as they tackle co-parenting.