Hayden Panettiere opened up in a new interview about her life as a mother, telling Parade that the safety of her 2-year-old daughter, Kaya, is her top priority.
“I can’t say that anything is typical or ‘the norm’ about any day of the week now that I’m the mom of a 2-year-old,” the 27-year-old actress told the magazine for a profile published on Sunday, December 11. “She gets her hands in just about everything, and my biggest job at the moment is keeping her alive!”
Panettiere — who shares Kaya with Ukrainian boxer fiancé Wladimir Klitschko — also told Parade how becoming a mom at 25 helped her figure out who her true friends were several years after relocating from L.A. to Tennessee.
“When I first arrived, I remember struggling with the concept of making a place so foreign to me feel like home. I was 22, not a mom [yet] and had no one to answer to but myself. My life was all about having fun, exploring myself and meeting new people,” the “Wake Up Call” singer, who moved in 2012 to begin work on Nashville, explained. “It was filled with late nights, great music and figuring out where I fit in here in Nashville. Then I went through a pregnancy and I found out who my true friends were — the ones that were going to stick around and support me. I’ll just say the outcome was slim pickins!”
Though she lost a few pals along the way, Panettiere told Parade that experiencing first-time parenthood in a previously unknown city helped her find her footing. “My life became all about staying healthy, getting good sleep, finding parks and nature. Now I’m the mother of a 2-year-old, I’ve found my pack of solid, loyal, lifelong friends here and am settled into a beautiful routine,” she added. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a blast. My life and who I am have simply evolved in a beautiful way. So actually Nashville feels like a first home to me!”
Back in May, the Heroes alum — who voluntarily checked into a treatment center for postpartum depression in October 2015 — revealed via Twitter this past May that she decided to seek treatment for a second time.
“The postpartum depression I have been experiencing has impacted every aspect of my life,” Panettiere shared at the time. “Rather than stay stuck due to unhealthy coping mechanisms I have chosen to take time to reflect holistically on my health and life. Wish me luck!”
