{"id":742688,"date":"2026-08-19T06:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T06:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/742688\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T06:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T06:56:09","slug":"wladimir-klitschko-pays-tribute-to-ex-partner-hayden-panettiere-she-left-this-world-too-soon-us-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/742688\/","title":{"rendered":"Wladimir Klitschko pays tribute to ex-partner Hayden Panettiere: \u2018She left this world too soon\u2019 | US television"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hayden Panettiere<\/a>\u2019s daughter will be raised to remember her mother\u2019s \u201cimmense talent\u201d and \u201cincredible career\u201d, according to a tribute<\/a> posted on social media on Tuesday by Wladimir Klitschko, the ex-lineal world heavyweight boxing champion and the late Hollywood actor\u2019s former partner.<\/p>\n

Their daughter, Kaya, has been raised by the Ukrainian retired boxer since 2018, when Panettiere ceded full custody to concentrate on her battles with alcoholism, depression and substance abuse.<\/p>\n

Her death in Greenville, South Carolina, was reported on Sunday<\/a>, with no cause given.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur family is going through a time of profound shock and grief,\u201d Klitschko wrote in the Instagram post, which featured a photograph of himself and Panettiere smiling at a beach, with Kaya \u2013 whose face is obscured \u2013 perched on her mother\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe announcement of Hayden\u2019s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.\u201d<\/p>\n

The message also referenced the troubles that the Nashville and Heroes actor had experienced at a young age, following a succession of child stars who faced later challenges or tragedy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry,\u201d Klitschko wrote of Panettiere. \u201cNothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klitschko also sent his condolences to Panettiere\u2019s grieving parents, friends and fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon,\u201d boxing\u2019s lineal heavyweight champion from 2009 to 2015 wrote. \u201cI ask everyone to please respect our family\u2019s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. For now, this is all I wish to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, Panettiere expressed hope that she would one day be reunited with her daughter, who was born in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will always want her here. I always miss her,\u201d she told podcaster Jay Shetty<\/a> in an emotional interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always want to have my arms wrapped around her, but that\u2019s just not the way life is right at this moment \u2026 I have faith that she is going to come to me and that we\u2019re going to have an incredible relationship and bond and friendship that a lot of parents don\u2019t get to have with their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klitschko and Panettiere met at a book launch party in 2009, when the actor, then aged 20, was already a television star for her appearances as fictional high school cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes. After first splitting in 2011, they remained close friends and became engaged in 2013. Panettiere gave birth to Kaya a year later.<\/p>\n

The actor struggled with postpartum depression, and the couple split for good in 2018, with Kaya spending time with her father at residences in Florida and Europe, E! News reported at the time.<\/p>\n

Panettiere then had an on-again, off-again relationship with Brian Hickerson. The Associated Press<\/a> and NBC News on Tuesday reported<\/a> they had obtained a police report that said Hickerson and his brother, Zach, were at the scene inside the apartment complex where Panettiere died.<\/p>\n

The report said Hickerson showed police \u201ca bag of medication\u201d that Panettiere was taking at the time of her death, according to NBC.<\/p>\n

Panettiere\u2019s relationship with Hickerson was marred by domestic abuse allegations. He was arrested multiple times and reportedly jailed in 2021 after pleading no contest to domestic abuse charges.<\/p>\n