Hayden Panettiere‘s ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko has issued a statement after the actor’s untimely death on Sunday (Aug. 16).
“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of himself with Panettiere and their now-11-year-old daughter. “She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.”
READ MORE: Hayden Panettiere: A Timeline of Tragedy + Troubles
“She built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry,” Klitschko continued. “Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”
What Did Hayden Panettiere’s Ex-Fiancé Wladimir Klitschko Say About Their Daughter Kaya?
In his statement, Klitschko promised, “To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.”
Panettiere and Klitschko’s daughter lives a relatively private life. Klitschko has had full custody of Kaya since 2018, and they have lived in Ukraine — his home country — as well as other parts of Europe.
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Panettiere occasionally shared anecdotes about her daughter’s life and interests, but overall, Kaya is outside the public eye. Klitschko almost never shares photos of their life together on social media.
In the photo he shared to commemorate Panettiere’s death, the young girl’s face is covered with an editing tool.
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Panettiere suffered severe, and initially undiagnosed, postpartum depression after welcoming Kaya via a difficult labor and emergency c-section delivery in 2014.
READ MORE: Hayden Panettiere’s Final Interviews Will Break Your Heart
In one of her final interviews before her death, the actor told Momé that she felt “empty” in the wake of Kaya’s birth, and shame over the fact that she’d hadn’t felt that initial bond with her new baby.
Her depression continued, and Panettiere turned to alcohol to cope. She eventually received treatment for addiction, but she has since said that those treatments didn’t fully address the postpartum depression that triggered the drinking.
Four years after her daughter’s birth, as she continued to battle mental health and substance abuse issues, Panettiere decided to cede primary custody to Klitschko.
“It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make,” she told Momé. “I was going through a really challenging time in my life…I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mom she needed me to be.”
Panettiere maintained a relationship with Kaya via visits and FaceTime, and she wrote in her 2026 memoir This is Me: A Reckoning that their bond grew as Kaya was growing up.
A Timeline of Hayden Panettiere’s Relationship With Ex-Fiancé Wladimir Klitschko
Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko met around 2008 at a book launch party in Los Angeles, according to USA Today. Rumor has it they kicked off their relationship with a joke about their height difference (She was about 5 foot 0; he’s 6 foot 6.)
They began a relationship and, despite a temporary split in 2011, eventually got engaged. Panettiere announced their engagement after the fact, in an October 2013 appearance on morning talk show Live With Kelly & Michael.
The actor announced her pregnancy the following August, and Kaya was born on Dec. 9, 2014.
Panettiere first opened up about her experience with postpartum depression in 2015, and she was vocal about the “misunderstanding” that much of the general public has about the condition.
“It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable,” she said on Live With Kelly & Michael that September. “It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.” The actor checked into a treatment facility that fall.
Klitschko and Panettiere broke up in 2018. He and Kaya returned to Ukraine.
Panettiere began a relationship with Brian Hickerson, with whom she continued an on-again, off-again relationship for years. He faced multiple charges of domestic violence against her during their relationship. Per E! News, she and Hickerson traveled together one day before her death.
How Did Hayden Panettiere Die?
Hayden Panettiere died on Sunday, Aug. 16. She was 36 years old.
- Paramedics responded to the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, S.C. after a 911 call about an unresponsive person who was in cardiac arrest.
- Attempts to resuscitate Panettiere were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 2:32PM, per TMZ.
- No official cause of death has been announced. An autopsy was conducted on Monday (Aug. 17), with results pending.
READ MORE: REPORT: Hayden Panettiere Suffered Apparent Overdose
Dispatch audio published by TMZ and confirmed by People includes an unnamed official mentioning an “overdose.” A rep for the star told People, “I don’t have any more information at this time, but it’s looking as though that is the case.”
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
