Hulk Hogan was already ‘heartbroken’ months before his fatal cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday. He was 71.
A symbol of American patriotism and machismo who succeeded in everything from wrestling to Hollywood to reality television, the man born Terry Bollea had gone eight years without speaking to his daughter Brooke, 36.
The exact details of the estrangement were never fully revealed, but the Daily Mail understands that, despite their ups and downs, Hogan believed – to his dying day – they would reconcile.
‘The last few months of Hogan’s life had a lot more ups than downs,’ an insider told 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.’
It is also understood that his sudden death has left those closest to him in shock.
From left: Hulk Hogan, his daughter Brooke Hogan, wife Linda Hogan and son Nick Hogan. The family is seen attending the premiere of War Of The Worlds at the Ziegfeld Theatre on June 23, 2005, in New York
The reality show, Hogan Knows Best, made a star out of Brooke Hogan (second from left, pictured with her family)
‘He was still extremely close to his son,’ our source added. ‘It is a surprise and doesn’t feel real at all to his family and friends.’
Hogan’s career spent in the wrestling ring also took a toll on him – leaving the athlete with ‘the body of a 140-year-old man,’ one inside source told the Daily Mail in April.
But for all of his physical problems, which included a major neck surgery in June, Hogan’s final years may be best remembered for his fractured home life, which a source previously revealed left him ‘heartbroken’.
While Brooke has never fully confirmed her reasoning for losing touch with Hogan and her mother, Linda, she said in a statement earlier this year that she’d been ‘verbally and mentally abused since childhood’.
She made sure to stress that the allegations were ‘not pointed at either person’ and it was revealed on Thursday that Brooke had managed to tell her father she loved him in a final conversation before his death, according to TMZ.
It has also been claimed that Brooke’s husband, hockey player Steven Oleksy, has made several failed attempts to ‘foster peace’.
While Hogan has largely kept quiet about the rift, ex-wife Linda has been vocal, calling him a ‘complete liar’ and ‘sex addict’.
‘I’m just home by myself today,’ the 65-year-old mother to Hogan’s two children said in a disturbing online video in March. ‘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.’
Linda Hogan (pictured) launched into an online rant about her ex, Hogan, and daughter, Brooke, in March
Brooke and Hogan arrive for the MTV Video Music Awards in 2004
Lamenting the tough ’15 years since I left Hulk’, Linda complained that her daughter ‘doesn’t talk to us’.
‘She’s had twins, she got married, she didn’t tell us,’ Linda said before referencing Hogan by his give name, Terry.
‘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.’
As for the couple’s other child, 34-year-old Nick, Linda insisted he’s a rare bright spot in her life – ‘God bless Nick’.
Linda saved her most vicious comments for her ex-husband, who’d married his third wife, Sky Daily, two years ago.
‘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.’
A younger Hogan is seen with his children Brooke, 3, and Nick, 1, on a floral-print couch
The wrestler is captured affectionately rubbing noses with his 3-year-old daughter, Brooke
At no point did Linda explain the specifics of her issues with Hogan or Brooke, but the former couple certainly did go through a lot together.
After marrying the WWE legend in 1983, Linda became a celebrity in 2005 through their joint VH1 reality show, Hogan Knows Best.
But while the show was popular, Nick struggled with fame, resulting in a number of high-speed auto collisions. The worst came in 2007, when Nick’s 22-year-old friend and passenger John Graziano was left with permanent injuries due to the single-car crash.
Linda, then 48, filed for divorce soon after and quickly began dating a 19-year-old man, although their relationship ultimately fizzled.
Things didn’t get any better for Linda as she was arrested in 2012 for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
Meanwhile, Hogan was having his own problems.
Months earlier, he was caught in bed with the wife of is friend and radio personality, Bubba the Love Sponge, which led to another major scandal.
Hogan ultimately sued gossip site Gawker for $100 million for defamation, loss of privacy and emotional pain, although it was later revealed that billionaire Peter Thiel helped Hogan finance the case. Gawker later settled for $31 million.
Hogan is seen with his ex wife, Linda, early in their marriage, while boating on the Gulf Coast
Hogan is seen with Donald Trump in 1987. Decades later, he’d support the President on the campaign trail
Publicly, Hogan remained his same boisterous self. Before his death, he launched his own beer brand and became known as an ardent Donald Trump supporter.
He endorsed Trump’s presidential candidacy at the 2024 GOP convention and later spoke in favor of his fellow reality TV star at a Madison Square Garden rally in October. He even pitched himself to be Trump’s Vice President before JD Vance was chosen.
But in some corners, his act was growing tired, especially after Hogan was recorded using racist slurs in 2015.
In a video made public by The National Enquirer, Hogan said ‘I guess we’re all a little racist’ and used the n-word while referring to his daughter’s love life, repeating the phrase ‘f***ing n******’ several times.
Anger over the incident continued into this year as Hogan was booed during a rare WWE appearance in Los Angeles.
But even with his declining public popularity, Hogan remained more concerned about his estranged daughter.
‘It has been a very trying few months for Terry, but he isn’t allowing it to get to him, and he is living his life the way he wants to live it,’ a source told the Daily Mail in April.
‘He’s heartbroken that he doesn’t have a relationship with his daughter and would love someday to rectify that.’
