Hayden Panettiere Reveals Pain Behind Decision to Give Up Custody of Daughter

Hayden Panettiere says handing over custody of her daughter wasn't abandoning her child ... it was the only way she knew how to save herself.

The actress got emotional on Monday's episode of "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" podcast while revisiting the painful decision to sign over full custody of daughter Kaya to ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko back in 2018 amid addiction, anxiety and postpartum depression struggles.

Check out the clip ... Hayden is pushing back on those who've questioned the move ... saying, "The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking."

Hayden explained she was spiraling privately at the time while trying to keep functioning publicly ... saying she felt like she had "completely lost" herself. She also pushed back on rumors she was forced into treatment ... insisting she was the one begging for help.

"'I desperately need help,'" she recalled saying to herself. "'I know this is going to look terrible, but I cannot live like this anymore.'"

Though Kaya -- who is now 11 -- lives overseas with Klitschko, Hayden says the two remain incredibly close and regularly FaceTime each other and "talk about really deep things."

Hayden also clarified that she doesn’t believe her daughter feels abandoned ... insisting Kaya knows she has two parents who would do anything in the world to make sure she’s happy and healthy.

The "Heroes" alum has previously called signing over custody the "most heartbreaking thing" she’s ever had to do ... once describing the ordeal as a "living nightmare" during one of the darkest periods of her life.