Hayden Panettiere and Ex-Fiance Wladimir Klitschko’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock

Hayden Panettiere and Ex-Fiance Wladimir Klitschko’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

While Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko became amicable coparents before her death, the pair have gone through their ups and downs together.

After connecting with the former professional boxer in 2009, Panettiere started dating him on and off through 2011. The pair eventually reconciled and were spotted packing on the PDA in March 2013. Later that month, Us Weekly confirmed that the Ukraine native had proposed.

Amid their engagement, Us broke the news in May 2014 that Panettiere was expecting their first child. Daughter Kaya was born that December. The duo eventually called off their engagement in August 2018.

Since then, the duo have got along as coparents to raise Kaya, who primarily resides with the former athlete in his native Ukraine. Panettiere, for her part, frequently visited her daughter in person and organized FaceTime calls.

In August 2026, news broke of Panettiere's sudden death at age 36.

Scroll below to relive the former couple’s relationship journey:

Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock

Hayden Panettiere and Ex-Fiance Wladimir Klitschko’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

While Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko became amicable coparents before her death, the pair have gone through their ups and downs together.

After connecting with the former professional boxer in 2009, Panettiere started dating him on and off through 2011. The pair eventually reconciled and were spotted packing on the PDA in March 2013. Later that month, Us Weekly confirmed that the Ukraine native had proposed.

Amid their engagement, Us broke the news in May 2014 that Panettiere was expecting their first child. Daughter Kaya was born that December. The duo eventually called off their engagement in August 2018.

Since then, the duo have got along as coparents to raise Kaya, who primarily resides with the former athlete in his native Ukraine. Panettiere, for her part, frequently visited her daughter in person and organized FaceTime calls.

In August 2026, news broke of Panettiere's sudden death at age 36.

Scroll below to relive the former couple’s relationship journey:

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2009

The former flames hit it off after meeting at a party.

Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock

May 2011

After two years of dating, the pair called it quits.

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February 2013

Panettiere and the Hall of Fame boxer were photographed together several times that February and March.

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March 2013

Us reported that the pair had secretly gotten engaged after reconciling.

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December 2014

They welcomed their first child, Kaya, on December 9.

Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock

August 2018

Amid breakup speculation, the duo eventually called off their engagement after spending the better part of nine years together.

Credit: Roger Wong/INF

January 2019

The Bring It On: All or Nothing star exclusively gushed about the pair’s coparenting dynamic and Kaya’s latest milestones on January 31.

“We’re trying to do the book smarts and the street smart. So, you know, trial and error as a parent. … We’re all going to make mistakes,” she told Us. “We go on nice long vacations that result in an email from her school saying, ‘Your kid has been gone too long.’ Like, she’s 4, so let’s not make too big a deal. She speaks multiple languages.”

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May 2019

A source previously told Us that the former heavyweight champion was “very protective” of his ex amid her drama with Hickerson.

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June 2020

After the former child star’s split from Hickerson, an insider exclusively revealed that Klitschko was “extremely supportive and a champion” of Panettiere.

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June 2020

“Happy Father’s Day to this amazing man,” she gushed via Instagram on June 21, sharing a throwback photo of Klitschko and Kaya. “You’re our champ every single day. We love you so much!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ #blessed 🙏🏽 .”

Credit: DDP/INSTAR

February 2022

“I’m praying for my family and friends there and everyone who’s fighting,” the Tiger Cruise actress wrote via Instagram amid the Russian and Ukrainian conflict. “I wish you had more support and I wish I was there fighting with you! For now, I ask for those of us who can’t be there to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and show your support for #democracy.”

Her ex was among the soldiers defending Ukraine, having enlisted in the Reserve Army weeks prior. “It is the love, the love for my city, my home, my family, my neighbors, my daughter that has brought me here today, that I took this initiative and am now taking part in this territorial defense,” Klitschko said at the time via Reuters. He confirmed after the invasion began that he remained in the capital to defend his country. 

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July 2022

While discussing her past struggle with opioid and alcohol addiction, Panettiere recalled the decline of her relationship with the boxer. "He didn't want to be around me," Panettiere told People. "I didn't want to be around me. But with the opiates and alcohol I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I'd feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction."

The actress went on to recall sending Kaya to live with her father in Ukraine, saying it was "the hardest thing" she's ever done. "But I wanted to be a good mom to her — and sometimes that means letting them go," Panettiere added.

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September 2022

Panettiere praised her ex for being a "fantastic" parent to Kaya but pointed out during an episode of Red Table Talk that there will be some things their daughter will need her for in the future that Klitschko may not be able to deal with on his own. "I also remember her dad calling me, and he said, 'Kaya's going around and asking other women if she can call them mommy,'" she recalled. "And my breath hitched and my heart stopped, and he was laughing. He thought this was funny, and it was horrifying to me. He didn't get it as it was to me who saw  that's a trauma reaction. That's a cry for help. ... I have tried to explain how much she needs her mom and how it's going to rear its ugly head later when she is older, and it could turn into anger, depression, sadness, whatever it is, but it's going to be a trauma."

Elsewhere in the episode, the Scream 4 star also claimed that she wasn't "fully" involved in the decision to send Kaya overseas to live with her dad. "I didn't even know it was happening until she was already over there," she alleged. "[She's] in a country where her uncle is the mayor, and they are icons over there. It's a country where it's very male dominated, so there wasn't a heck of a lot that I could do. ... I thought she was going over to visit him like she always did. She went back and forth between me in Nashville and Ukraine, and then once she was over there, it was immediately, 'I want full custody of her,' which was a shock to me."