Wrestling icon Hulk Hogan was estranged from his daughter, Brooke, for eight years before his sudden death on Thursday, and was also publicly blasted by his ex-wife, Linda
Hulk Hogan was silently wrestling with profound personal anguish in the months before his unexpected death at the age of 71, according to insiders.
The wrestling legend, whose real name was Terry Bollea, succumbed to cardiac arrest at his Clearwater, Florida residence on Thursday. Yet beneath his imposing persona as an all-American champion and theatrical performer, Hogan was bearing the heartache of a prolonged rift with his daughter, Brooke.
The 36 year old had remained estranged from her father for eight years. Whilst the precise cause of their relationship’s collapse was never fully disclosed, Hogan allegedly maintained hope for an eventual reconciliation.
“The last few months of Hogan’s life had a lot more ups than downs,” an insider revealed to the Daily Mail. “There was a little strain with his daughter and their relationship that had taken quite the emotional toll, but he always thought he would eventually be able to rectify that.”
His abrupt death has apparently left his inner circle reeling.
“He was still extremely close to his son,” the source continued. “It is a surprise and doesn’t feel real at all to his family and friends.”
Hogan’s decades in the wrestling arena had exacted a brutal physical price. Back in April, an insider characterised his state as possessing “the body of a 140-year-old man.”
In June, he endured significant spinal surgery, reports the Express.
However, beyond his bodily deterioration, sources suggest it was the broken nature of his family relationships that burdened him most heavily. Earlier in the year, Brooke openly discussed her estrangement from both of her parents, revealing she had been “verbally and mentally abused since childhood.”
She clarified that her claims were “not pointed at either person.”
TMZ reported that Brooke and her father did have a conversation prior to his passing, during which she expressed her love for him.
Her husband, ice hockey star Steven Oleksy, is said to have made multiple attempts to bridge the gap within the family, albeit without success.
While Hogan largely kept quiet about the family tension, his former partner Linda was quite outspoken. The 65 year old branded him a “complete liar” and a “sex addict” in an emotional video she shared online in March.
Linda, tearfully alone at home, remarked: “I’m just home by myself today. Again, as usual, I’m okay with most things, but today something hit. I don’t know what hit, but I look terrible because I’ve been crying.”
She lamented the loss of contact with her daughter, saying: “She’s had twins, she got married, she didn’t tell us. She had a huge fight with Terry. I don’t know how that reflected onto me. But she cut me out, too. I haven’t talked to her for seven years – almost eight years now.”
However, Linda mentioned that their son Nick, aged 34, continues to be a source of joy in her life, expressing: “God bless Nick.”
Nonetheless, Linda reserved her most biting remarks for Hogan, even in light of his recent 2023 nuptials to third wife Sky Daily.
“I’ve given him more opportunities to come back and make us a family,” Linda said. “I’ve never put a Facebook [post] out like this with my ugly face and my crying face, but I have to be honest about what I went through in my marriage with Terry. It’s been 20 years and I’m still this sad. Somebody please explain that. I don’t know. It just doesn’t get better.”
The pair’s stormy relationship unfolded before the public, especially following their ascent to reality television stardom in 2005 with Hogan Knows Best. Their son Nick battled with the media attention, and in 2007 was caught up in an accident that left his 22 year old mate John Graziano with lifelong injuries.
Linda submitted divorce papers soon afterwards and started seeing a 19 year old, although the romance was short-lived.
Hogan faced his own share of scandals. He found himself at the centre of controversy when an intimate recording emerged featuring him with the spouse of his mate and radio host Bubba the Love Sponge.
He took legal action against celebrity gossip website Gawker for $100 million and ultimately reached a settlement for $31 million, with assistance from billionaire supporter Peter Thiel.
Nevertheless, Hogan kept up his boisterous public image. He started a beer company and continued as an outspoken backer of Donald Trump, supporting him at the 2024 GOP convention and even suggesting himself as a possible vice-presidential candidate before JD Vance was selected.
However, his reputation took a hit following a 2015 scandal where he was recorded using racial slurs, including repeated utterances of the n-word while discussing Brooke’s romantic relationships. “I guess we’re all a little racist,” he was heard saying in the recording, which was made public by The National Enquirer.
His rare WWE appearance in Los Angeles earlier this year was met with boos, as the backlash persisted.
Despite everything, friends reveal that Hogan remained fixated on mending his fractured relationship with Brooke.
“It has been a very trying few months for Terry,” a source confided to the Daily Mail in April, “but he isn’t allowing it to get to him, and he is living his life the way he wants to live it. He’s heartbroken that he doesn’t have a relationship with his daughter and would love someday to rectify that.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
