How toxic feud ripped Hulk Hogan's family apart & left him ‘suicidal'…from bitter ex's abuse claim to son's tragic crash

The Irish Sun

25-07-2025

FAMED for ripping his shirts in two and his muscle-mountain physique, the late six-time WWE champion Hulk Hogan was a legendary figure in the ring.
But the staged melodrama that unfolded in front of millions of wrestling fans was nothing compared to the turbulent life he led away from the TV cameras.
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Hulk Hogan, who died on Thursday, was married to Linda for 11 years
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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The family landed their own MTV reality show before the split
Credit: AP
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Their glam daughter Brooke, 37, said 'I love you' during a final call with Hulk
Credit: mizzhogan/Instagram
Real name Terry Gene Bollea, the brawler's family life was fraught with feuds, with even his daughter Brooke, 37, admitting they were all 'very skilled at war'.
For the 16 years since his multimillion-pound divorce from his first wife Linda, 65, there was a relentless onslaught of barbed blows and furious rows that have played out in the press.
Thankfully, Hulk was said to have healed the rifts in his dying days before he passed away aged 71 after suffering a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning.
A source told Daily Mail the thrice-wed wrestler 'had a lot of scores to settle [and] didn't want to leave anything unsaid' as his strength and health drastically declined.
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Hulk 'apologised' to his daughter during a final phone call, in which she told him 'I love you' according to TMZ. It's said she is 'at peace' and felt 'lucky and grateful'.
And just five days ago, ex-wife Linda, who in March dubbed him
Finally their 18-year war of words seemed to be over, as she shared a throwback Instagram photo of them together, which she captioned: 'The good old days!'
Few could have predicted peacekeeper would be the final role played by Hulk before his death - and now we reveal the family feud that was crazier than a WWE storyline.
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Chaos erupted back in 2007 when Linda announced she was divorcing Hulk over an affair with a music producer pal of his then-teenage daughter Brooke.
The break-up, which followed multiple rumours of flings, put an abrupt end to their two-year Osbournes-inspired reality show, Hogans Knows Best.
Meet WWE legend Hulk Hogan's stunning wife Sky Daily, who is 25 years his junior and a yoga teacher
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Hulk with Linda, who he was married to for 11 years
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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Hulk with third-and-final wife Sky earlier this year
Credit: Getty
Linda was furious over the fling with Christiane Plante, 33, and after initially denying it, Hulk claimed it happened when the marriage was 'irrevocably broken and over'.
At the time, Brooke lashed out on social media platform MySpace claimed she would 'NEVER forget the hurt they caused" before retracting it and going in to bat for her dad.
'My dad and I had a little bit of a tiff earlier this year...I was disappointed for a minute,' she told Fox News, before launching into a series of swipes at mum Linda.
Chaos reached fever pitch and the fallout would tear the family in two at what was already an exceptionally difficult time for them all.
'Horror crash'
For just two months before news of the divorce, their son Nick caused a horror crash after losing control of his Toyota Supra while driving at 106mph in a 70mph zone, in August 2007.
Then 17, he was admitted to hospital with minor injuries. His best pal John Graziano, 22, was left in a vegetative state after breaking his skull and suffering irreparable brain damage.
In court, Nick pleaded guilty to felony reckless driving in May 2008 for the collision, which saw his sportscar career off the highway and into a palm tree. He received an eight month prison sentence.
Knowing their son was responsible would be heartbreaking enough but the damage was further highlighted by the mother of Graziano - then dependent on round the clock care - who said: 'I grieve the virtual loss of my son on a daily basis.'
You and [inaudible] are not f***ing coming to me for help… get your ass right out of this house…Don't f***ing come back
Linda Hogan
TMZ reported the family would later settle out of court with the Hogans. Hulk, at the time, said his son was 'moving through life and maybe not really appreciative of things'.
Perhaps insensitively, he added: 'It totally spun him in a 180...It's the best thing that ever happened to him. I'm not saying it's a good thing. But it happened for a reason.'
Nick, who was released after six months for good behaviour, would later admit it was 'hard to move on every day and be positive' after doing something 'so horribly devastating'.
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Nick's Toyota Supra was a mangled mess after the crash
Credit: Splash News
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John Graziano was left with brain damage in the 2007 crash
Credit: Supplied
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Nick was jailed for after admitting reckless driving
Credit: Getty
'Suicide' attempt
It was a torturous time, as Hulk attested in his 2009 memoir My Life Outside The Ring, claiming he 'practically begged' a reporter not to publish the story of Nick's 2007 crash.
The wrestler was suffering mentally. That year he pleaded with his wife 'please, don't file for divorce' fearing the crash plus their split would 'make us look like the Britney Spears family', according to the Daily News.
Hulk also revealed that, while presenting the American remake of Gladiators, he downed a cocktail of Xanax and rum in a bid to end his life in early 2008.
He claimed to have reached for a gun and put his finger on the trigger when he received a call from his concerned co-host Laila Ali, daughter of legendary boxer Muhammad.
She noticed Hulk 'looking distracted at work' amid the divorce and his son's crash. In the wrestler's book, he credited her with saving his life.
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Linda Hogan moved on with toyboy Charley Hill one month after the divorce was announced
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Hulk was a six-time WWE champion
Credit: Splash
Amid that turmoil in 2008, Brooke moved to Miami to escape the drama and attempt to launch her singing career as was documented in her spin-off TV show Brooke Knows Best.
It was claimed Hulk spent 'probably over $3m' trying to make her a star, which may have aided in her vehement support of her famously over-protective dad.
Toyboy row
That was never more apparent than in the release of her scathing July 2009 song Dear Mom… just a week before the Hogan divorce was finalised.
In the track, she exploded at Linda alleging she was a drug addict, which she refuted, and shared a recording of her mum kicking her out of the family home.
In the lyrics, she complains: 'Get outta my way; Stressing me out; …It's all this s*** I can't take' and took swipes at her mum's toyboy lover Charley Hill, then 19 while she was 48.
They started dating just a month after Linda filed for divorce from Hulk and Brooke clearly sided with her dad, labelling her mum's teen lover 'the epitome of losers'.
'Smokin' all your cares away and having a play date,' Brooke sang in one lyric, alleging drug use and mocking the romance's near 30-year age gap.
It would lead to a furious clapback from Linda's lawyer, who claimed: 'Brooke is Hulk's only remaining mouthpiece and a pawn in his game of control.'
My family is very skilled at war
Brooke Hogan
Brooke's 2009 track also featured a recorded argument where Linda said: 'You and [inaudible] are not f***ing coming to me for help… get your ass right out of this house…Don't f***ing come back.'
The divorce settlement stung Hulk hard, with him losing 70 per cent of their liquid assets, their £2.23m Florida home and 40 per cent of his ongoing business takings.
It would lead to further barbs between the two of them in memoirs. In 2009, Hulk accused Linda of being an abusive alcoholic, who threatened to beat their son with a wine bottle.
She denied it and two years later alleged he 'tore my shirt… threw lamps… slammed doors, pounded walls' and pinned her down with 'his hands around my throat' in her 2011 book.
'I was always afraid he would kill me in one of his rages,' she wrote in Wrestling The Hulk. The claims led to him file a lawsuit, which was dismissed in 2012.
'It's just so crazy to hear…' he fired back. 'If you're going to say I'm something that I'm not to try to ruin my career and my livelihood… I have to answer her back.'
Sex tape scandal
Tensions further escalated when Hulk's sex tape with Heather Cole, secretly filmed by her US radio host husband Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, was published by Gawker Media.
The 2012 video later resulted in a £23m payout that bankrupted the company. Three years later, a mystery source released a damning recording from it.
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Hulk with son Nick in 2009 after his six-month prison stint
Credit: Splash
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Hulk with second with Jennifer McDaniel, who he divorced in 2021
Credit: Getty
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Linda, now 65, launched into a bitter attack on him online in March
Credit: mizzhogan/Instagram
It heard Hulk engage in an expletive and racism filled rant, including multiple uses of the N-word, about his daughter's then-boyfriend. It led to his WWE contract being terminated.
Shockingly Brooke defended her dad claiming he was 'an easy target' and telling People magazine: 'What he said was not right, but I know that's not who he is.'
Hulk thanked her for having 'always been there for me with unconditional love' but his daughter was pulling away to 'set boundaries' and focus on 'healing and happiness'.
This included not attending Hulk's marriage to Jennifer McDaniel, which lasted 11 years until 2021, nor his 2023 nuptials with Sky Daily, 46, who was 25 years his junior.
'Narcissist like dad'
Despite keeping her distance, Brooke was dragged back into the drama when mum Linda, 65, posted a furious video on social media in March this year.
It was littered with false claims about their relationship and saw her label Brooke 'a narcissist just like her dad' and appear to threaten to tell embarrassing stories about her past drinking.
Linda's claims included not having seen her daughter in eight years and having not met her husband, which Brooke debunked by sharing a picture of them all together in 2023.
The mum, whose recollections have been questioned, claimed: 'She had a huge fight with Terry (Hulk). I don't know how that reflected onto me, but she cut me out too."
Hulk responded coldly and never made an effort to meet Brooke's kids
TMZ
Brooke hit back that her lack of contact with both parents was due to being "EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood", claiming rows "frequently turned physical". Linda denied the claim, Hulk did not respond.
'My family is very skilled at war,' she added. 'I so badly wanted to see good in them, protect, help, and start anew - just to be disrespected again and again.
"I've repeatedly held my hand out to help them, only to have them pull me into the darkness with them. I've set boundaries that were not respected… I can truly do no more.
"Each individual, on their own, has given me more than enough reasons over the years to make this extremely hard and painful decision to end contact.'
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Linda's vitriolic rant upset Brooke
Credit: Supplied
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Brooke hit back with an attack on her parents
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Near-death plea
Prior to this public spat, the last time Brooke spoke to her dad was in 2023 when she urged him 'to slow down and enjoy life, but Hulk didn't want to hear it' according to TMZ.
It was said she 'expressed deep love and concern' on the call but he didn't take kindly to her encouraging him to stop 'working so hard given his declining health'.
Brooke's husband Steven Oleksy, an NHL player who she wed in 2022, reportedly 'made multiple efforts to mend the relationship' over the years to no avail.
They included him reaching out after his wife nearly died while giving birth to their twins, Molly and Oliver, in January this year.
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The family used to be the focus of reality show Hogan Knows Best
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Brooke shared a screenshot proving the date she and her husband saw Linda in 2023
Credit: mizzhogan/Instagram
'Hulk responded coldly and never made an effort to meet Brooke's kids,' TMZ wrote. 'Our sources say he ultimately only wanted a relationship with her under his terms.'
But more recently, it's claimed the frost thawed. In April, sources told the Daily Mail that Hulk was 'heartbroken' over the feud with Brooke and 'would love someday to rectify that'.
They claimed he was 'looking to make up for past bad decisions', that he was ready to listen and finally wanted to 'make amends and help rather than hurt'.
The change of heart came amid rumours of the 71-year-old's declining health. In May, he had an operation on his neck and earlier this month, a pal claimed: 'I don't know if we'll ever see Hogan again.'
It's believed Hulk finally buried the hatchet before his death, with insiders telling TMZ that Brooke felt 'lucky and grateful' she could 'say 'I love you' during their last conversation.'
They claimed he 'apologised' but 'wasn't specific for what' and added: 'She feels at peace knowing she did everything she could to protect and support him.'
As for Nick, they remained 'very close' and lived near each other. And it seems even Linda made amends too, with her recent nostalgic snap.
It would seem Hulk was able to repair old wounds before the final bell rang on his life - meaning his family can let the memory of this sporting giant rest in peace.
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Brooke gave birth to twins in January
Credit: mizzhogan/Instagram