Hayden Panettiere Says Letting Go Of Her Daughter Is “the Best Thing” She Could Ever Do For Her

When Hayden Panettiere signed away the custody of her only child to her ex, you can bet the internet had a lot to say about it. But, you know, people are always judging through a lens, they aren’t on the ground to know what’s really happening, and even if they were, there isn’t any way to judge how someone is really feeling about something.

For Hayden, being abused by the internet, in the middle of giving her child away and struggling with substances, took a massive toll on her mental health. But she knew she had to clean up if she wanted to be a good mom to her daughter.

Hayden Panettiere – Says Signing Away The Custody Of Her Child Was the “Hardest” And “Best” Decision She Made

The “Heroes” alum candidly opened up about the decision to give her ex, Wladimir Klitschko, sole custody of their daughter, Kaya. The new episode of Facebook Watch’s “Red Table Talk” saw Panettiere, 33, bare her heart about making the difficult decision.

During the conversation, host Adrienne Banfield Norris asked Panettiere what agreement she came to with her ex that made her grant him full custody of their daughter.

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Panettiere, while admitting that she didn’t regret signing over the custody of her daughter Kaya, did admit that there was a better way they could have handled the conversation about their child’s custody.

“At first it was not because it wasn’t a discussion,” Panettiere said. “If [Klitschko] had come to me and said I think because of where you’re at right now and the struggles that you’re having it would be good for her to be over here with me for a while, to which, if I had probably had enough of a conversation, I would’ve said okay that makes sense, I get it, I’ll come there to visit and stuff like that.”

She added that the way it played out at the time was “very upsetting”.

“I mean, it was the worst, signing those papers, it was like the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” the actress said, before explaining that the papers she was referring to were the ones that’ll give her 46-year-old ex full custody.

She also shared with Banfield Norris, Jada Pinkett Smith, and guest host Kelly Osbourne, that her plan at the time was for her to work on herself, with the belief that “things would then change” and her daughter would want to see her again, but it didn’t work out like she hoped it would. “I was gonna go work on myself, I was gonna get better and when I got better then things could change and she could come to me, and I could have my time with her but that didn’t happen.”

After Hayden and Wladimir broke up in 2018, she made the difficult decision to have her live with her father in Ukraine while she concentrated on overcoming postpartum depression and addiction.

Live With Kelly & Ryan Star Kelly Ripa Reveals How Mark Leaked Her Pregnancy https://t.co/ruXFMDhrEx #Celebrities #KelyRipa pic.twitter.com/V6hQNTgMY2

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Hayden Panettiere – On Not Regretting Anything That’s Happened To Her

Hayden Panettiere, in a July interview with PEOPLE, called giving up her daughter “the hardest thing I could do”. However, she comforted herself with the thought that her daughter is okay and it was the right decision to let her go.

At the time, Hayden entered rehab and spent the next eight months completing her trauma therapy and inpatient treatment. At the moment, she’s planning to return to acting and has now signed with a new talent agency APA. She just recently wrapped filming “Scream 6”, in which she reprises her role as Kirby Reed.

“This hasn’t been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs,” Hayden told PEOPLE. “But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.”

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with Hayden Panettiere right now. Come back here often for all Hayden Panettiere spoilers, news, and updates.

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