Hayden Panettiere detailed decision to sign over custody of daughter Kaya in book published 3 months before her death

Marina WattsMon, August 17, 2026 at 3:23 PM UTC

1

Hayden Panettiere in 2022Credit: Jon Kopaloff/GettyKey Points -

Months before her death at 36, Hayden Panettiere wrote about handing over custody of her daughter Kaya to her ex Wladimir Klitschko.

“Kaya needed to feel at rest, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally,” she wrote in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.

Panettiere’s death was announced on Sunday, Aug. 16. She was 36.

Months before her death, Hayden Panettiere wrote about her decision to sign over custody of her daughter.

The Nashvillestar, who died on Sunday at 36, mentioned letting her ex Wladimir Klitschko have full custody over their 11-year-old daughter Kaya. The Ukrainian boxer and actress began dating in 2009, split from 2011 to 2013, and split again in 2018. She and Klitschko had split their time between the U.S. and Europe since Kaya was born.

In her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoningpublished on May 19, Panettiere recounted flying to Kyiv to see her daughter in 2017 and take her back with her to the U.S. during a Nashville filming break. Her relationship with Klitschko had “faded away” at that point.

“It had been a few months and I missed her so much it was like I’d lost my heart and soul,” Panettiere wrote.

Before she reunited with her daughter, the late actress met with Klitschko her hotel’s restaurant to be served documents where he was suing Panettiere for full custody of Kaya. “‘I want full custody,’ Wlad answered. ‘I worry about Kaya when she’s with you,’” she recalled him saying.

Hayden Panettiere in January 2017Credit: Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic

“In a traumatic moment, people either fight, fly, or freeze. I’ve always been a fighter. I will battle till I’m black and blue for anyone I love, and I will fight like hell for myself. My daughter was on another level. I would fight until I’m dead for her,” she wrote.

Panettiere insisted that she had childcare arranged for Kaya when she was working and had never been drunk and along with their daughter. Klitschko said he was worried about Kaya based on what Panettiere’s friends told him, rendering her speechless.

“I tried to understand Wlad’s motivation. Maybe he’d backed me into a corner, in a country where I didn’t hold the authority he did, because he knew he’d lose Kaya otherwise. Wlad understood that if I chose to fight and get on his level, I would start a fire so f---ing fast that he’d have to run for his life. I was capable of giving him whiplash, and he knew it. Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.”

Panettiere then considered how she felt as a child growing up in the spotlight, and didn’t want her daughter to have the same experiences as her. “Kaya’s life didn’t have to be that way. Being vulnerable could be a blessing, but not at the expense of personal security. Kaya needed to feel at rest, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally,” she wrote.

Advertisement

“Could I fight Wlad? Sure. Did I want to? Yes. But should I? No. I couldn’t do it to my Kaya. I signed the papers, and Wlad got our child.”

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.

She also told NPR in May, days before her memoir’s release, about how much her daughter and former partner are part of her life after losing custody of Kaya.

“I mean, I travel as much as I can. I spend as much time as I can with her. I have a great relationship with - co-parenting relationship with Wlad I’m incredibly grateful for. I have a relationship with my daughter,” Panettiere admitted. “If I can’t be there with her physically, then I talk to her all the time on FaceTime.”

“And she’s getting to that age where she’s reaching out more and more to mommy, which is beautiful. But I feel like I’ve gotten to - we developed a relationship that’s unique and different than most parents get to have with their children. Hopefully, you know, a growing friendship, too,” she added.

‘This Is Me: A Reckoning’ by Hayden PanettiereCredit: Grand Central Publishing

Months after her memoir was published, Panettiere’s death was announced on Aug. 16. She was 36.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” a rep told Entertainment Weekly in a statement on behalf of her father Alan “Skip” Panettiere.

“We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”

Panettiere’s death is under investigation after a 911 call indicated that she was being treated for an apparent “overdose” and “cardiac arrest,” per PEOPLE.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”