Terry Gene Bollea, the wrestling icon known as Hulk Hogan, died on Thursday, July 24, as confirmed by the World Wrestling Entertainment. He was 71.
Medics said he suffered from “cardiac arrest,” TMZ reported. The WWE Hall of Famer lived with his third wife, Sky Daily, whom he married in 2023.
Hogan was previously married to Jennifer McDaniel from 2010 to 2021. He is also survived by his first wife, Linda Hogan, and their two children, Brooke, 37, and Nick, 34. Linda and Hogan married in 1983 and their divorce was finalized in 2009.
GettyNick Hogan, Brooke Hogan, Linda Hogan and Hulk Hogan arrive at the release party for Brooke’s new album “Undiscovered” on October 24, 2006.
The famous family starred on the VH1 reality series, “Hogan Knows Best.” Brooke starred the spinoff show, “Brooke Knows Best,’ which ended in 2009.
Linda said their divorce stemmed from Hogan’s “infidelities,” which included an affair with one of Brooke’s best friends. Hogan’s publicist Elizabeth Rosenthal told ABC News at the time, “Hulk admitted to the affair but maintains that his marriage to his wife was ‘irrevocably broken and over.'”
Brooke did not attend her father’s wedding to Daily. Pro-wrestling’s 12-time world champion suffered a deep rift with his only daughter, which came to light in March. Linda blamed Hogan for Brooke not speaking to them. “It’s been 15 or longer—years since I left Hulk Hogan and my family is in the worst mess,” she revealed in a tear-filled Instagram video.
“Brooke doesn’t talk to us,” Linda added, noting she hasn’t talked to Brooke in seven or eight years. “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.”
Brooke Hogan, Who Married Former Hockey Player Steven Olesky, Explained Why She Doesn’t Speak to Her Parents
Brooke, who married former hockey player Steven Olesky in 2022 and welcomed twins Oliver and Molly in January, shared a statement of her own.
“There was a recent video posted by my Mother that was concerning enough for people to send to me,” Brooke wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on March 27, “that has made me feel the need to address the tip of a very large iceberg that is my immediate family.”
“No contact with my Mom has nothing to do with my Dad, and no contact with my Father has nothing to do with my Mother,” she continued. “What I’m about to say is not pointed at either person… I have been EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood. Sadly, it would frequently turn physical.”
Brooke noted she’ll always love her parents and cutting them off still hurts. However, she needed to break “the chain.”
“I so badly wanted to see good in them, protect, help, and start anew-just to be disrespected again and again. I longed for a normal family, but it never came to fruition.”
“Life is so precious,” she concluded. “I want so much to be able to enjoy what’s important…my children and my life I have worked so hard to create and protect-and I hope everyone can give me the chance to do that without injecting any more poison into it.”
Hulk Hogan Said He ‘Doesn’t Know’ Why Brooke Cut Him Off: Report
Two days after Brooke’s emotional statement, an source told US Weekly. “Terry not speaking to Brooke is [a] much more recent thing.” The “Rocky III” star also “tells people he doesn’t specifically know why Brooke won’t speak to him.”
“Terry has for sure tried to be a good dad,” the source added, noting that he remains “very close” to his son, Nick. While Nick posted a tribute to Hogan for Father’s Day, Brooke wrote a special message to Olesky.
Hulk Hogan, Daughter Brooke, Were Not Speaking Before Wrestler’s Death