Superstar Hayden Panettiere said her daughter suffered a “traumatic reaction” after her addiction forced the star to give up full custody of her to ex Wladimir Klitschko, who lives in Ukraine.
During the 33-year-old actress’ appearance on Facebook’s “Red Table Talk,” Panettiere spoke to hosts Jada Pinkett Smith and her mom Adrienne Banfield Norris about the “scary experience” of giving away custody of her then 3-year-old daughter due to her substance abuse struggles, the New York Post reported in a piece published Wednesday.
“I also remember her dad calling me, and he said, ‘Kaya’s going around and asking other women if she can call them Mommy,'” Hayden explained.
Hayden Panettiere details losing full custody of baby daughter: 'She's going around and asking other women if she can call them mommy' https://t.co/jZ6hitIDFE pic.twitter.com/VSeNUi4mWq
— New York Post (@nypost) September 28, 2022
“And my breath hitched and my heart stopped, and he was laughing,” she added. “He thought this was funny, and it was horrifying to me. He didn’t get it as it was to me, who saw, that’s a trauma reaction. That’s a cry for help. I said immediately, ‘Can I talk to my daughter?'”
Panettiere then said when she did speak to her daughter she “went into ‘goo goo gaga’ speak, like just talking gibberish.”
“I never before, ever, heard her do that,” the actress added. “It was a trauma that she was experiencing. You know, me not being around. So, I mean, as much as I have tried to explain how much she needs her mom and how it’s going to rear its ugly head later when she is older, and it could turn into anger, depression, sadness, whatever it is, but it’s going to be a trauma.”
“You know, you can explain it to somebody who doesn’t understand that concept or doesn’t believe it till you’re blue in the face,” Panettiere continued.
The “Heroes” star also talked about the “heartbreaking” moment when she gave away parental rights of her now-7-year-old daughter, Kaya, while dealing with addictions with drugs and alcohol, so she could work on herself, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“Because of the way that it was done, it was very upsetting,” Hayden explained. “I mean, it was the worst signing those papers, the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever, ever had to do in my life.”
Panettiere and Klitschko dated in 2009 and split up two years later, Page Six noted. They reunited in 2013 and welcomed a daughter a year later. In 2018, they officially called things off.