WLADIMIR Klitschko has broken his silence following the sudden death of his ex-fiancé Hayden Panettiere.
The beloved US actress, who was nominated for two Golden Globes, died on Sunday, her heartbroken family confirmed.
In a moving tribute posted on Instagram, Wladimir, 50, said: “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.
“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply.”
The retired Ukrainian boxing champion had a daughter with Hayden during their nine year on-and-off relationship.
He added: “She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.
“To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.
“I extend my deepest condolences to Hayden’s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today.
“Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon.”
Wladimir met Hayden in 2009 and the pair – who had a 14-year age gap – were later engaged in 2013 but split up in before tying the knot.
Hayden had publicly spoken about her difficulties with mental health and addiction, but had been sober since 2020 after spending weeks in rehab.
A serious bout of postpartum depression led to her giving up custody of her daughter, Kaya, 11, in 2018.
In an interview with parenting outlet Mome published in July, Hayden described the heart-breaking decision.
She said: “It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make.
“I was going through a really challenging time in my life… I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mum she needed me to be.”
The mother-of-one, who would have turned 37 on Friday, had complained of back pain in the months before her death, sources told TMZ.
Confirming the tragic news, her dad Skip Panettiere said: “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.
“She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her – and to the millions who watched her on screen.”
Police were reportedly responding to an “incident” involving the actress when they found her, with investigations still ongoing.
Hayden had recently been dating Brian Hickerson in an on-again, off-again relationship.
US media reported both Hayden and Brian, had flown out of Los Angeles on Saturday.
The pair were together from 2018 to 2020 when Hickerson was arrested, convicted and jailed for domestic violence against the actress.
He served only one day of a 45-day jail term and the couple reconnected in 2021.
At the time, Brian said: “We have a long history together, and the first step in my recovery as an abuser is making amends.”
Hayden, born in New York, first hit the screens as an 11-month-old child when her mum took her to star in several TV commercials.
Her first acting gig came when she was four-years-old on the American soap opera One Life to Live.
The diminutive actress would stay in the TV and film industry for her entire life.
Her film debut came at the age of nine, as the narrator and voice of Princess Dot in the 1998 animated Pixar flick A Bug’s Life.
She was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Grammy Award on the back of the film’s box office success, which made her the fifth-youngest Grammy nominee ever.
Away from Hollywood, Hayden is best known for her leading roles on TV.
She starred in 73 episodes of Emmy-award winning Heroes between 2006 to 2010 as cheerleader Claire Bennet.
Hayden later earned two Golden Globe nominations as Juliette Barnes on Nashville where she featured in 128 episodes from 2012 to 2018.
Hayden also lent her voice to video games including hit series Until Dawn.
Her sudden death comes months after her candid autobiography, This Is Me: A Reckoning, detailed her experiences with postpartum depression, drug addiction and recovery.
In her final interview while promoting the book, Hayden declared she had “a lot more life to live”.
The tell-all book had recently become a New York Times bestseller.