Hayden Panettiere Slams Claim She “Abandoned” Daughter Kaya, 11, After Giving Up Custody
Hayden Panettiere‘s motherhood journey started off with a harrowing experience.
The Nashville star nearly died from bleeding out while giving birth to her and ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko‘s daughter Kaya in 2014.
“I was sitting there and getting the C-section, and I knew that I was knocking on death’s doorstep,” Hayden recounted in an exclusive E! News interview about her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, out May 19. “I just had the most motherly moment though, where I said, ‘God, please let me hear my daughter cry. I just want to know that she is OK and if it’s my time to go, I’m OK with that.’”
While Hayden ultimately pulled through, undergoing seven blood transfusions and overcoming an infection, the near-death incident made her realize she was more than ready to be a mother. As the 36-year-old put it, she was willing to sacrifice herself “in a second” to ensure Kaya’s well-being.
Hayden added, “I wasn’t afraid at all.”