Celebrity4 min(s) read
Published 14:42 08 May 2026 GMT
Hayden Panettiere has opened up about her relationship with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko after recently speaking publicly about her sexuality for the first time.
The 36-year-old Heroes actress reflected on her bond with the former heavyweight boxing champion and their daughter, Kaya, eight years after she signed over custody during her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression.
"I have an incredible relationship with both of them," she recently told Us Weekly. "I’m so grateful for Wlad. We’re very close, and have had a deep friendship, along with a relationship, since I met him when I was 19," she added.
The pair began dating in 2009 before briefly splitting in 2011. They later reunited, became engaged in 2013, and welcomed their daughter in 2014 before separating for good in 2018.
"To see that we still have this bond and the ability to co-parent and show our daughter [that] even though we’re not together," she continued, "doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of love here, and it doesn’t mean that you’re unsafe."
The Bring It On: All or Nothing actress described Kaya as "an incredible gift," adding: "She’s otherworldly and so kind and so fierce and surrounded by good people."
"It’s incredible for me to be able to watch her thrive in areas that I struggled with growing up," she added. "She’s just the best thing, all the best parts of me and Wlad."
Following her split from Klitschko in 2018, Panettiere entered rehab multiple times while battling postpartum depression, alcohol addiction, and drug addiction.
During that period, she relinquished custody of Kaya to Klitschko, something she later described as "a living nightmare".
In her upcoming memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, the Nashville star says she takes "full responsibility" for her "shortcomings as a mom".
"I had to ultimately take into consideration the most important thing, which was how this was all going to affect my daughter," she explained. "Sometimes that means having to do the hardest things in the world, for their sake."
Though she described signing over custody as "one of the worst days" of her life, she said it was still necessary to "always put her first".
"Wlad is an incredible father, and I know he was doing what he felt was best for our daughter," she added.
The Scream star's latest interview comes shortly after she publicly came out as bisexual for the first time.
Speaking to the outlet, she admitted she had dated women from a young age but previously felt unable to discuss that part of her life publicly.
"That’s something about me I was never able to share with the world, because it was just never the right time," she explained. "It was either I was too young, and I was being forced to be perfect at all times. I was not encouraged to just be myself."
Panettiere also revealed she worried people would dismiss her sexuality during a period when she felt bisexual women were not always taken seriously.
"Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad. I was afraid that if I was honest, it was going to be like me jumping on the bandwagon," she said.
"It’s sad I had to wait until I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?" she added. "I’m comfortable to confidently say that yes, I am bisexual. I said it! This is the first time I got to say it out loud."
She also admitted that dating women while living in the public eye was difficult because of constant media attention.
"It was scary, though, because there were paparazzi always waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere. I had very little privacy," she said. "I have dated women. I was much more into women even as a child than I was men."
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