Hayden Panettiere Has Shared What Happened to Make Her Relinquish Custody of Her Daughter

Actor Hayden Panettiere has one child, a daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, with her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. And, over the years, she has made headlines for her mental health, struggles with addiction, and allegedly losing custody of her child. But why did Jayden Panettiere lose custody of her daughter? And, for that matter, what's the actual story there?

She has been open about her personal and professional struggles over the years. Hayden has also openly shared what happened with her ex and what her relationship is like with her daughter Kaya now. Although she has been able to seek help, Hayden does not have custody of her daughter, though according to her, that isn't a negative thing.

In 2022, Hayden appeared on Red Table Talk, according to Entertainment Tonight, and shared with the hosts how she lost custody of her daughter and what happened that led to such a monumental moment with her ex. She shared at the time that Kaya was almost three years old and that she didn't make the decision herself, at least not right away.

She explained that she didn't realize she had given up custody of her daughter until her daughter was already at Wladimir’s home. But, because of a mixture of postpartum depression and alcohol addiction, Hayden knew she had to work on herself to get better for Kaya, even if it meant relinquishing custody to her ex.

"Because of the way that it was done, it was very upsetting," Hayden said on Red Table Talk. "I mean, it was the worst, signing those papers, the most heartbreaking thing I've ever, ever had to do in my life." She added, “I was gonna go work on myself, I was gonna get better, and when I got better then things would change and she could come to me and I could have my time with her but that didn't happen.”

In 2026, Hayden shared more details about that time in her life on the On Purpose podcast. She explained that she willingly sought out help so she could better herself for Kaya. After she dealt with what she called a “horrible cycle” of battling depression and substance abuse and alcoholism for years, she admitted that she didn't think it was fair to then remove her daughter from her father’s home after years of primarily living with him.

"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 she had,” Hayden said. Despite that, Hayden worked hard to develop a relationship with Kaya.

Kaya still lives with her father in Europe. However, Hayden shared on the podcast episode, she does visit her, and the two share a close relationship now.

“I have an incredible relationship with her,” Hayden said. “I go, I travel as much as I can. I see her, I do spend a lot of time on Facetime with her. We talk about really deep things. We have a really intense, incredible, bond. And I’m very grateful for that.”