Hayden Panettiere’s daughter, Kaya, had ‘trauma reaction’ to separation from mom
Hayden Panettiere described the “trauma reaction” her daughter, Kaya, experienced after her ex Wladimir Klitschko obtained full custody.
The actress said in the “Today” show’s sneak peek of her “Red Table Talk” episode, which will be released in full on Wednesday, that the 7-year-old went to Ukraine to live with the retired boxer in 2018 and then began “asking other women if she can call them Mommy.”
Panettiere, 33, said her “breath hitched” and her “heart stopped” when Klitschko, 46, told her that.
“He was laughing,” the “Nashville” alum claimed to Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris and guest co-host Kelly Osbourne.
“He didn’t get it as … a trauma reaction,” Panettiere said. “That’s a cry for help. I said immediately, ‘Can I talk to my daughter?'”
![Hayden Panettiere holding daughter Kaya.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_36.jpg)
When the “Heroes” alum asked Kaya about her requests to other women, the little one “went into ‘goo goo gaga’ speak … talking gibberish.”
Panettiere said, “I never before, ever, heard her do that. It was a trauma that she was experiencing, me not being around.”
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![Hayden Panettiere talking on "Red Table Talk."](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_38.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=878)
![Hayden Panettiere talking on "Red Table Talk."](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_39.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=878)
In a previous clip, the Golden Globe nominee alleged that signing custody over to Klitschko was not a “discussion” amid her struggles with opioid and alcohol addiction.
“If he had [spoken to me about the decision] … I would’ve said, ‘OK, that makes sense, I get it, I’ll come there to visit and stuff like that,'” Panettiere explained.
![Hayden Panettiere on a red carpet.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_35.jpg)
She called the “very upsetting” moment the most “heartbreaking” one of her life.
Panettiere has been vocal about her efforts to maintain a relationship with Kaya since the move, telling People in July that “letting go” was “best” for her daughter so she could “take care” of herself.
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![Hayden Panettiere, Wladimir Klitschko and daughter Kaya in a black-and-white selfie.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_37.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=785)
![Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko on a red carpet.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_34.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=393)
![Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko at an event.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/hayden-Panettiere-daughter_33.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=392)
“She has a beautiful life,” the “Remember the Titans” star gushed at the time.
Panettiere and Klitschko began dating in 2009 and split two years later, only to reunite in 2013. Their daughter arrived in 2014, four years before the duo called it quits again.