Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Brooke Hogan, has finally spoken out about the WWE legend’s sudden death.
Brooke, who’s been publicly estranged from Hulk and her mother, Linda, shared a lengthy statement Tuesday on Instagram. She started her tribute by reflecting on the biological and emotional connection she’s always had with her father, who died at the age of 71 on July 24.
“My dad’s blood runs through my veins,” she wrote in her note. “His eyes shine through my children. And our bond has never broken, not even in his final moments. We had a connection deeper than words, one that spanned lifetimes.
“I am so grateful that I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens.
“We shared a quiet, sacred bond, one that could be seen and felt by anyone who witnessed us together,” she continued. “When he left this earth, it felt like part of my spirit left with him. I felt it before the news even reached us.”
She shared how her father would remind her that everything was “temporary” and that he said he’d “always find [his] way back to” her.
“I truly believe that - we will find each other in every lifetime,” she continued. “I know he’s at peace now, out of pain, and in a place as beautiful as he imagined. He used to speak about this moment with such wonder and hope. Like meeting God was the greatest championship he’d ever have.”
Brooke recalled some of her favorite memories with Hulk throughout her childhood, including “jet ski rides,” and “laughing til [they] cried.” She also credited him for giving her a “love and respect for the ocean.”
She then made some clarifications about their relationship, claiming the media “has been convoluting the narrative,” and she thought it was necessary to clear things up. First, Brooke clarified that there was never a “big fight” between her and her father.
“It was a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know, or understand,” she wrote. “My father was confiding in me about issues weighing on his heart, both personal and business. I offered to be a life raft in whatever capacity he needed. I told him he had my support. I begged him to rest, to take care of himself.”
Brooke also said that she and her husband, former NHL player Steven Olesky, even moved to Florida to support Hulk amid his health issues.
"We had been through almost 25 surgeries together, and then all of a sudden he didn’t want me at surgeries…everything started getting covered in a thick veil,” she added. “It was like there was a force field around him that I couldn’t get through.”
She explained that while her father had been “so vulnerable” with her, there was a sudden shift. He then made a “choice to walk the path that clearly tore at his spirit,” according to Brooke, and she “felt a disconnect” between them. She confirmed that during the last two years, she took a step back from her father, to “protect [her] heart.”
“My husband stayed open, quietly reaching out to my dad without me knowing, trying to find a safe way back in for me,” she continued. “After my father passed, I read those messages, some answered, some ignored...but all of them broke my heart.”
However, she acknowledged that she did “everything [she] could” and that despite the distance between her and her father, she would have done anything for him.
“He knew I would run through a burning building for him. And in many ways, along the path of life, I did,” she added. “He knows how deeply, how hard and how purely I loved him. I am at peace knowing this.”
She said that all she wanted from her father was “love, honesty, and a deep connection,” which she had for “a few special years.” And for her, those memories “will last a lifetime.”
“My world is forever changed. But I’m deeply blessed with a loving husband and two beautiful children who remind me every day of life’s greatest gifts,” she concluded. “I’m deeply grateful for the love, tributes, and memorials from his fans and friends. His life was one worth celebrating—and always will be.”
While she said she’s been separated from her father for two years leading up to his death, she hasn’t been in contact with her mother, Linda, for nearly a decade. However, Brooke’s brother Nick, 34, was still in touch with their father before he passed.
Brooke addressed the family feud in March on Instagram, clarifying: “I have completely separate reasons for going no contact with each of my parents,” she explained in an Instagram video. “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. This decision was made based purely on how they have each dealt with me my entire life.”
Brooke also alleged that she was “extremely verbally and mentally abused” throughout her childhood, which allegedly turned into physical abuse. However, she emphasized that those remarks were “not pointed” at either of her parents.
Linda then shared a lengthy Facebook post to deny abuse claims from her daughter, saying she “by no means ever treated [Brooke] the way she’s painting it.”
On Monday, Linda broke her silence about her ex-husband Hulk’s death. She called his passing a “big surprise” in an Instagram comment left on a previous post, which she shared days before he died.
“I had no idea he would pass away this soon. We all really thought he would make a come back! Big surprise. We are all devastated. It’s hitting me so hard. I loved Hulkster more than he loved me,” she wrote. “It’s just shocking.”
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