Hayden Panettiere Slams ‘Common Misconception’ That She Abandoned Her Daughter by Giving Up Custody
Posted by PrincessBananas85
Hayden Panettiere Slams ‘Common Misconception’ That She Abandoned Her Daughter by Giving Up Custody
Posted by PrincessBananas85
11 Comments
>Panettiere welcomed Kaya, now 11, with Klitschko, 50, in December 2014 while engaged to the Ukrainian boxing icon. However, in 2018, she gave full custody to her ex amid her struggles with [postpartum depression and addiction](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/hayden-panettiere-gets-honest-on-loss-addiction-more/).
>“I was struggling with mental health [issues], anxiety, postpartum [depression] and having to act my way through it and feeling like I completely lost myself,” the *Heroes* actress said of that time period in her life. “The misconception is that I have been forced into treatment when, in fact, I have been the one who has sought it out, who was saying, ‘I desperately need help. I know this is going to look terrible, but I cannot live like this anymore.’”
It was really brave of her to recognize her struggles and take that step, I can’t imagine how hard it must be… not surprised by the public shaming unfortunately—a woman “has to be a good mom”! And “can’t abandon her child”, but if your mental health is shit, it’s no good for you or your kid.
I would much rather a parent be able to recognise when the best thing for their child is *this*, than that parent be forced into a role dangerous to their mental health. Her addiction and PPD was so severe that she described it as a “waking nightmare”. Pushing someone in that situation to parent when they are at their limit rarely has a good outcome.
It doesn’t feel like a misconception to me. It feels like women can’t win. Having the child and giving it up is exactly what pro lifers want you to do, all while ignoring they’ll treat you as a sinner regardless if you actually give up a child.
Exhausting.
My mom asked my aunt to raise me & my brother when I was 5 and he was 7, dad was an abusive alcoholic and my mom was addicted to drugs. My aunt took us in and we were able to have some sort of a relationship with my mom until she passed away from lung cancer when I was 12. My situation is a little different, but I am very thankful to my mom for realizing that she wasn’t doing her best as a mother and was able to reach out for help for our sake. I like to think that I’m in a pretty good position in life right now and if it wasn’t for that decision I wouldn’t be alive today or in the position that I am in now.
And if she had kept her daughter while struggling with PPD and ends up neglecting her, she would be branded as a monster and be asked why she couldn’t have just given up custody to the other parent anyway. She did the right thing for herself and her child.
Probably the best decision she made.
Where I’m from, kids being raised by their grandparents and aunts\uncles is common.
Im glad she was able to recognize she wasnt in the best place to provide the home her daughter deserves. I dont have or want kids but I can see how thats a very tough thing to accept for not only the mothers but society as well. Or court systems at times.
It’s because she’s a mom, how many famous rich men have kids who they don’t have primary custody of and basically are not guardians and they don’t get called out or talked about nearly as much as they would if they were a woman?
Off the top of my head, Tom Cruise and Jude Law.
> So by the time I finally got healthy, I felt it would have been unfair of me and selfish of me to try to pull her away from this life that she had created,” Panettiere added. “She’s an incredible little girl. So happy. [She] speaks five languages and rides horses and knows that she has two parents that love her. I know in my heart that she feels supported. I have an incredible relationship with her. I travel [to see her] as much as I can. We have a really intense, incredible bond, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Good for her for recognizing what’s best for her child and for her. I’m sure it was very hard but neglecting a kid due to mental health and drug issues would have been devastating to both and we need to be more understanding of women in a similar position.
As women and mums we simply cannot win. It’s so tiring.