Why Did Hayden Panettiere’s Ex-Fianc\u00e9 Get Full Custody of Their Daughter?<\/strong><\/h3>\nPanettiere suffered severe, and initially undiagnosed, postpartum depression after welcoming Kaya via a difficult\u00a0labor and emergency c-section delivery in 2014.<\/p>\n
READ MORE<\/em>: Hayden Panettiere’s Final Interviews Will Break Your Heart<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nIn one of her final interviews before her death, the actor\u00a0told\u00a0Mom\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>that she felt “empty” in the wake of Kaya’s birth, and shame over the fact that she’d hadn’t felt that initial bond with her new baby.<\/p>\nHer depression continued, and Panettiere turned to alcohol to cope. She eventually received treatment for addiction, but she has since said that those treatments didn’t fully address the postpartum depression that triggered the drinking.<\/p>\n
Four years after her daughter’s birth, as she continued to battle mental health and substance abuse issues, Panettiere decided to cede primary custody to Klitschko.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make,” she told\u00a0Mom\u00e9<\/em>. “I was going through a really challenging time in my life…I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mom she needed me to be.”<\/p>\nPanettiere maintained a relationship with Kaya via visits and FaceTime, and she wrote in her 2026 memoir This is Me: A Reckoning<\/i> that their bond grew as Kaya was growing up.<\/p>\nA Timeline of Hayden Panettiere’s Relationship With Ex-Fianc\u00e9 Wladimir Klitschko<\/b><\/h3>\n
Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko met around 2008 at a book launch party in Los Angeles, according to\u00a0USA Today<\/a><\/em>. Rumor has it they kicked off their relationship with a joke about their height difference (She was about 5 foot 0; he’s 6 foot 6.)<\/p>\nThey began a relationship and, despite a temporary split in 2011, eventually got engaged. Panettiere announced their engagement after the fact, in an October 2013 appearance on morning talk show\u00a0Live With Kelly & Michael<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/204\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-haydenpanettierewladimirklitschko.jpg?w=980&q=75\")
<\/div>Michael Buckner, Getty Images<\/figcaption>Michael Buckner, Getty Images<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe actor announced her pregnancy the following August, and Kaya was born on Dec. 9, 2014.<\/p>\n
Panettiere first opened up<\/a> about her experience with postpartum depression in 2015, and she was vocal about the “misunderstanding” that much of the general public has about the condition.<\/p>\n“It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable,” she said on\u00a0Live With Kelly & Michael<\/em>\u00a0that September. “It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.” The actor checked into a treatment facility<\/a> that fall.<\/p>\nKlitschko and Panettiere broke up in 2018. He and Kaya returned to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Panettiere began a relationship with Brian Hickerson, with whom she continued an on-again, off-again relationship for years. He faced multiple charges of domestic violence against her<\/a> during their relationship. Per\u00a0E! News<\/a><\/em>, she and Hickerson traveled together one day before her death.<\/p>\nHow Did Hayden Panettiere Die?<\/strong><\/h3>\nHayden Panettiere died on Sunday, Aug. 16. She was 36 years old.<\/p>\n
\n- Paramedics responded to the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, S.C. after a 911 call about an unresponsive person who was in cardiac arrest.<\/li>\n
- Attempts to resuscitate Panettiere were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 2:32PM, per TMZ<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- No official cause of death has been announced. An autopsy was conducted on Monday (Aug. 17), with results pending.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
READ MORE<\/em>: REPORT: Hayden Panettiere Suffered Apparent Overdose<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nDispatch audio published by TMZ <\/a>and confirmed by\u00a0People<\/a><\/em> includes an unnamed official mentioning an “overdose.” A rep for the star told\u00a0People<\/em><\/a>, “I don’t have any more information at this time, but it’s looking as though that is the case.”<\/p>\n\nR.I.P.: 40 Country Singers and Songwriters Who Died Too Soon<\/h2>\n\nThese country singers had so much more to give. See 40 country singers who died much too soon: Keith Whitley, Mindy McCready, Troy Gentry and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In one of her final interviews before her death, the actor\u00a0told\u00a0Mom\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>that she felt “empty” in the wake of Kaya’s birth, and shame over the fact that she’d hadn’t felt that initial bond with her new baby.<\/p>\n Her depression continued, and Panettiere turned to alcohol to cope. She eventually received treatment for addiction, but she has since said that those treatments didn’t fully address the postpartum depression that triggered the drinking.<\/p>\n Four years after her daughter’s birth, as she continued to battle mental health and substance abuse issues, Panettiere decided to cede primary custody to Klitschko.<\/p>\n “It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make,” she told\u00a0Mom\u00e9<\/em>. “I was going through a really challenging time in my life…I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mom she needed me to be.”<\/p>\n Panettiere maintained a relationship with Kaya via visits and FaceTime, and she wrote in her 2026 memoir This is Me: A Reckoning<\/i> that their bond grew as Kaya was growing up.<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko met around 2008 at a book launch party in Los Angeles, according to\u00a0USA Today<\/a><\/em>. Rumor has it they kicked off their relationship with a joke about their height difference (She was about 5 foot 0; he’s 6 foot 6.)<\/p>\n They began a relationship and, despite a temporary split in 2011, eventually got engaged. Panettiere announced their engagement after the fact, in an October 2013 appearance on morning talk show\u00a0Live With Kelly & Michael<\/em>.<\/p>\n The actor announced her pregnancy the following August, and Kaya was born on Dec. 9, 2014.<\/p>\n Panettiere first opened up<\/a> about her experience with postpartum depression in 2015, and she was vocal about the “misunderstanding” that much of the general public has about the condition.<\/p>\n “It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable,” she said on\u00a0Live With Kelly & Michael<\/em>\u00a0that September. “It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.” The actor checked into a treatment facility<\/a> that fall.<\/p>\n Klitschko and Panettiere broke up in 2018. He and Kaya returned to Ukraine.<\/p>\n Panettiere began a relationship with Brian Hickerson, with whom she continued an on-again, off-again relationship for years. He faced multiple charges of domestic violence against her<\/a> during their relationship. Per\u00a0E! News<\/a><\/em>, she and Hickerson traveled together one day before her death.<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere died on Sunday, Aug. 16. She was 36 years old.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/em>: REPORT: Hayden Panettiere Suffered Apparent Overdose<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Dispatch audio published by TMZ <\/a>and confirmed by\u00a0People<\/a><\/em> includes an unnamed official mentioning an “overdose.” A rep for the star told\u00a0People<\/em><\/a>, “I don’t have any more information at this time, but it’s looking as though that is the case.”<\/p>\n These country singers had so much more to give. See 40 country singers who died much too soon: Keith Whitley, Mindy McCready, Troy Gentry and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA Timeline of Hayden Panettiere’s Relationship With Ex-Fianc\u00e9 Wladimir Klitschko<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/div>How Did Hayden Panettiere Die?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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R.I.P.: 40 Country Singers and Songwriters Who Died Too Soon<\/h2>\n