Klitschko then acknowledged the difficulty his young daughter will face moving forward and vowed to uphold Panettiere’s legacy with kindness.
As Radar previously reported, Panettiere made the difficult decision to sign away her full custody rights while navigating recovery from alcohol and drug abuse and depression. She explained in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, that she was approached by Klitschko with the request to take over parenting duties full-time. While she admitted to having the financial means to fight the ask in court, she did not have the emotional energy to do so. Instead, she dedicated that time to treatment.
After exiting treatment, Panettiere, who Klitschko called “young and talented,” found joy again. She was able to coordinate with Klitschko on co-parenting efforts, including early-on calls with Kaya.
“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.
He concluded, “Thank you to everyone who is supporting my family and expressing their sincere condolences. Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace.”
Alongside the heartbreaking tribute, he shared a photo of himself and Panettiere smiling together while Kaya sat on her mother’s shoulders. He obstructed and censored Kaya’s face for privacy as the pair have long kept their daughter out of the spotlight.