Hayden Panettiere slammed claims that he “abandoned” his daughter Kaya in 2018 while she was struggling with addiction and postpartum depression.
“It breaks my heart that anyone would think I would just let my child go and be OK with that,” the “Heroes” alum said on Monday’s episode of the “On Purpose” podcast.
“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” she added. “It became this horrible cycle because I battled depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and drug abuse for years and I was the only one trying to figure out how to get back together.”
Ms Panettile, now 36, revealed that her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko asked Kaya to live with him full-time in Ukraine when she was two years old, explaining that she had “completely lost herself”.
“I didn’t have a good reaction to it,” she admitted. “I was like a mother lion. I would have burned down the world for my child. So it was incredibly difficult.”
The Bring It On star told how Kaya built a “beautiful life” during their separation by participating in extracurricular activities with her friends.
“So when I finally got healthy, I felt it was unfair and selfish to try to take my daughter away from this life she had created for herself,” Panettiere added, explaining that her daughter has learned five languages and enjoys horseback riding.
“I know in my heart that she feels supported,” the “Nashville” alum said. “I have a great relationship with her. I travel as much as I can to see her. I spend a lot of time on FaceTime with her.”
Ms Panettile spoke passionately of the “intense” and “incredible” bond between the two, adding: “She never felt abandoned.”
Also on the episode, the “Remember the Titans” star cleared up the misconception that he was “forced” into treatment, saying he was the one who sought help in the first place.
Panettiere and Klitschko began dating in 2009 and had an on-again, off-again romance before getting engaged in 2013.
The following year, the “Scream 4” star announced that she was expecting her first child with a businessman.
She gave birth to a daughter in December 2014.
However, the exes broke up in August 2018, and the “I Love You, Beth Cooper” star started dating ex Brian Hickerson a few months later.
