Hayden Panettiere's ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko shares ‘profound shock' in tribute

The former partner of actor Hayden Panettiere said Tuesday their family is “going through a time of profound shock and grief,” following her death.

Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukrainian boxer and brother of the mayor of Kyiv, paid tribute to his ex-fiancé in a post on Instagram.

“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon,” he wrote. “Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.”

Klitschko shared an image of their daughter happily sitting on her mother’s shoulders as he paid tribute to Panettiere’s “incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry.”

“Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives. To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was,” Klitschko wrote in his tribute post.

“I extend my deepest condolences to Hayden’s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today. Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon,” he added. “Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace.”

Panettiere died Sunday at the age of 36, her father said in a statement.

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office said Monday that the cause of death is pending further investigation. An autopsy was completed Monday, the statement added, and “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”

“The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,” police said in a news release. “An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call.” Police did not identify the acquaintance.

Panettiere was best known for her roles in the television shows “Heroes” and “Nashville” and had recently published a memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” which generated headlines over its revelations — including some about her past relationships.

Panettiere revealed earlier this year that she previously struggled with postpartum depression and addiction, which she said led to her decision to give up custody of her only child, daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, in 2018.

Panettiere said she had always wanted to be a mother but discussed her sadness amid her postpartum depression, in a tearful interview on the “Jay Shetty Podcast” in May.

Despite being apart from her daughter after she gave up custody to Klitschko, Panettiere told Shetty, she formed a strong bond with her child.

“I will always want her here. I always miss her,” she said. “I always want to have my arms wrapped around her, but that’s just not the way life is right at this moment.”

Klitschko and Panettiere announced their engagement in 2013. It was after Panettiere gave birth to their daughter in 2014 that her life began spiraling out of control, she wrote in her memoir.

She later went into rehab and reluctantly signed over custody of Kaya to her father when the child was nearly 3 years old. By 2018, she and Klitschko were no longer engaged.

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“I still hadn’t processed everything that had happened with Wlad and Kaya, not to mention my anxiety and depression,” she wrote. She detailed the decision to sign over custody, saying that she thought things might change once she got better but that they never did.

Panettiere said in interviews that she had developed a good co-parenting relationship with Klitschko, that she was able to visit her daughter in Ukraine and that she regularly talked to her on FaceTime.

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