Klitschko Mourns Panettiere, Vows to Honor Her for Kaya
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- Wladimir Klitschko posted an Instagram tribute on Tuesday saying his family was in "profound shock and grief" after Hayden Panettiere's death was reported on Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina, with no cause given.
- Klitschko vowed to raise their daughter Kaya, born in 2014, to remember her mother's "immense talent" and "incredible career," calling Panettiere "no longer my partner" but "an important part of my life."
- Panettiere ceded full custody of Kaya to Klitschko in 2018 to address alcoholism, depression, and substance abuse, with the daughter living with her father in Florida and Europe.
- In a May podcast interview with Jay Shetty, Panettiere said she always missed Kaya and had "faith that she is going to come to me" for a future close relationship.
- Brian Hickerson, Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend who pleaded no contest to domestic abuse charges in 2021, and his brother Zach were inside the apartment complex where she died; Hickerson showed police a bag of her medication, per the Associated Press and NBC News.
- Klitschko and Panettiere met at a 2009 book launch party, split in 2011, became engaged in 2013, and split permanently in 2018 following her postpartum depression.
Why it matters: Klitschko's public pledge to honor Panettiere for Kaya comes as her boyfriend Brian Hickerson — who pleaded no contest to domestic abuse in 2021 — was reportedly present at the scene with a bag of her medication, per AP and NBC. No cause of death has been released, leaving the circumstances of her death at age 28 unanswered while her family asks for privacy.
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