Actress Hayden Panettiere is seen leaving the back door of Craig apos s restaurant with a boyfriend Brian Hickerson while barefoot

Hayden Panettiere Reveals Her Heartbreaking Decision During Addiction Battle

Home / Stars / Hayden Panettiere Reveals Her Heartbreaking Decision During Addiction Battle

By MLC on July 6, 2022 at 8:30 PM EDT

Hayden Panettiere is letting the skeletons out of her closet.

The “Heroes” actress recently spoke out about her opioid and alcohol addiction that derailed her acting career.

In an exclusive tell-all interview with People, Panettiere admitted to spending years battling her addiction and postpartum depression as well.

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Hayden Opens Up About Past Alcohol & Drug Addiction

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The actress has a daughter with ex-husband Wladimir Klitschko. The Ukrainian-native and Panettiere share a 7-year-old named Kaya.

She told the outlet, “I was on top of the world and I ruined it. I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens.”

Panettiere’s addiction got so out of hand that she had to make the decision to let go of her daughter.

Kaya lives full-time in Ukraine with her father.

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Hayden's Daughter Lives In Ukraine With Ex-Husband

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“My daughter went to live in Ukraine between Ukraine and Germany and I got to go over and see her as much as I wanted,” an emotional Panettiere admitted to People. “But I knew that she… that the best thing that I could do, the hardest thing that I could do, the best thing I could do for my daughter was to make sure that she was… to make sure that she was okay.”

The former “Nashville” actress admitted that she had to “take care of myself and make sure that I could be you know a good mom,” before getting choked up.

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Hear Hayden’s Emotional Story

She continued to say while holding back tears, “That sometimes means you have to let them go and let them have… she has a beautiful life and I was just with her, and she’s an amazing child and she’s smart and she’s funny and she for whatever reason still loves me.”

Panettiere also admitted that she underwent both trauma therapy and in-patient treatment in the past year.

“I put a lot of work into myself and I had to be willing to be incredibly honest,” she said, adding that her recovery “hasn’t been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs.”

She continued, “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.”

Panettiere is now sober and has a happy bond with Kaya.

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Hayden Is Raising Money For Frontline Ukrainian Soldiers

Her daughter has and continues to play a big part in her life. Panettiere’s newest mission is Hoplon International. It is a charity she founded in March to raise money for Ukraine, which is now in its fifth month of war with Russia.

"What she's dealing with and what we're all going through right now in regards to Ukraine is really really hard," she said.

Kaya’s uncle is the mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city.

"I had a conversation with her and the only question she had was, 'Why is Putin doing this?' It's so heartbreaking," Panettiere explained.

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“Every penny goes directly to the front line,” she said of Hoplon International. "And Wlad and I have been working hand in hand. He and Vitali are on the ground fighting for their country. Every time I hear his voice or get a text from him, it's such a relief."

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