Hayden Panettiere’s 7-year-old daughter, Kaya, still “loves” her mother despite moving in with her father, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2018.
“It was the hardest thing I could do,” the 32-year-old actress told People she had sent her little one to Ukraine in an interview published Wednesday.
“But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was okay, take care of myself and make sure I could be a good mother to her,” explains Panettiere, who is only sober after an alcohol and drug addiction. opioid addiction. “And sometimes that means letting go.”
The “Nashville” alum gushed that Kaya is “smarter” than she is, noting that her daughter is “taller” too.
“She has a beautiful life,” Panettiere told the magazine. “I was just with her. She’s just a great kid. She’s smart and funny, and for whatever reason, she still loves me.
“She’s a happy kid who’s open to a huge world,” she continued. “And she has more love than anyone I’ve ever met.”
However, Kaya is having a “very, very hard time” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the “Heroes” alum said.
Although Panettiere confirmed in February that her daughter was from the war-torn country, she told People that Klitschko, 46, is “fighting on the ground”.
“Every time I hear his voice or get a text from him, it’s such a relief,” added the “Scream” star before reflecting on a recent “heartbreaking” conversation with Kaya about the tragedy.
“The only question she had was, ‘Why is Putin doing this?'” Panettiere recalled.
Kaya was born in December 2014, four years before her parents called it quits. Panettiere admitted in the interview that her “cycle of self-destruction” in the throes of her addiction kept her relationship with the former professional boxer on and on.
“He didn’t want to be near me,” she said. “I didn’t want to be near me. But with the opiates and alcohol I did everything to make me happy. Then I would feel worse than before.”
Now Panettiere is “grateful to be a part of this world again,” saying, “I’ll never take it for granted.”