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Panettiere Confirms Custody to Klitschko, Memoir Releases May 19

5/12/2026

47 8 Full Breakdown

Summary

Panettiere Discusses Custody

Panettiere said on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast on May 11, 2026 that she gave custody of daughter Kaya to Wladimir Klitschko in 2018.
She entered rehab for alcoholism in 2015 and later sought postpartum-depression treatment.
She announced her memoir “This Is Me: A Reckoning” will release on May 19, 2026.
She said Kaya lives with both parents in Ukraine, speaks five languages, rides horses, and feels not abandoned.

Summary

Panettiere Defends Parenting

Hayden Panettiere announced she identifies as bisexual while confronting parenting criticism.
She called accusations of abandoning her daughter heartbreaking and false.
She said she would have burnt the world down if Wladimir Klitschko asked Kaya to live with him.
She linked the custody decision to a cycle of depression, anxiety, alcoholism and substance abuse, and affirmed Kaya now lives stably.

Summary

Panettiere Protects Daughter

Hayden Panettiere appeared on the “On Purpose” podcast hosted by Jay Shetty to address abandonment accusations.
She emphasized that she remains actively involved in her daughter Kaya’s life.
Panettiere and ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko were together from 2009 until their 2018 split, which led to a custody transfer that year.
During the interview she described herself as a “mother lion,” underscoring her protective stance toward Kaya.

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Panettiere Discusses Custody

Panettiere said on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast on May 11, 2026 that she gave custody of daughter Kaya to Wladimir Klitschko in 2018.
She entered rehab for alcoholism in 2015 and later sought postpartum-depression treatment.
She announced her memoir “This Is Me: A Reckoning” will release on May 19, 2026.
She said Kaya lives with both parents in Ukraine, speaks five languages, rides horses, and feels not abandoned.

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