Hayden Panettiere’s Ex Shares Emotional Tribute on Star’s Birthday: ‘Love Is a Superpower. Use it’

Screenshot; AP Photo/ Katy Winn

Hayden Panettiere’s ex-husband urged fans to “think about love” in an emotional tribute on what would have been the actress’s 37th birthday.

Wladimir Klitschko, who shared daughter Kaya with the tragic Heroes and Nashville star, posted on Instagram Friday in honor of Panettiere, who sudden death Sunday sent shockwaves through Hollywood.

Today is Hayden’s birthday. Instead of celebrating the way we had planned, today we celebrate her life, her spirit, and the love she brought into this world.

I want to thank all of Hayden’s fans, friends, and everyone who has reached out for the incredible outpouring of love and support. At a time filled with so much sadness, your kindness has reminded me that there is still so much good in humanity.

If you’re reading this, I ask just one thing: even if only for a moment, think about LOVE. Reach out to a friend. Forgive someone. Be kind.

Love is a superpower. Use it.

Happy Birthday, Hayden. ❤️ You are loved, you are missed, and you will never be forgotten

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcTeMW2vUT0/

Klitschko obtained full custody of Kaya in 2018.

Panettiere is believed to have died of cardiac arrest in Greenville, South Carolina, where first responders were called to an apartment where she was staying with boyfriend Brian Hickerson.

Narcan, a drug used to reverse overdoses, was found at the scene but it’s unclear if it was used on Panettiere, who was open about her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression for years.

The actress’s mother, Lesley Vogel, later slammed Hickerson, telling NBC News: “this person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson.”

Panettiere spent a decade as a spokesperson for skincare brand Neutrogena, which dropped her over her public discussion of her mental and emotional struggles.

“Of all the things, too, that they would fire me over, this was the last thing I thought they would fire me over,” she told podcaster Jay Shetty in May while promoting her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning.

The brand issued a statement this week claiming to be “deeply saddened” by her death.

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