Hulk Hogan, who died Thursday at 71, was once a fixture of pop culture.
With a 35-year dedication to wrestling — culminating in his time with WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, formerly the WWF) — and his family’s early-aughts reality series Hogan Knows Best, Hulk expertly carved out a place for himself, his family, and the sport in the mainstream.
But along with the fame came a string of controversies, largely self-inflicted, that tainted the public’s view of the legend, real name Terry Bollea, and ultimately sent his personal life into a tailspin.
From reality TV stardom and his bitter divorce from his first ex-wife, Linda, to his racist rant and years-long estrangement from daughter Brooke, here’s how the wrestling icon’s family life fell apart.
Hogan Knows Best
During the later years of Hulk’s WWE career, he, Linda, and their two children — Brooke, now 37, and Nick, now 34 — fronted their reality series, Hogan Knows Best. The four-season show, which ran from 2005 to 2007, offered a rare glimpse into their sometimes dysfunctional family.
The WWE Hall of Famer previously revealed his intentions for joining reality TV were to help jumpstart his children’s careers. “I was offered lots of [reality] shows when I was making my career comeback against The Rock, but I kept saying no,” he told Fox News in 2008. “But years later, it was my daughter’s career and son’s racing career that we were thinking about.”
On the series, Hulk was portrayed as an overprotective father who, in one episode, kept close tabs on teenage Brooke’s whereabouts with a GPS tracker he stuck under her car.
In another moment, Hulk threatened legal action against Brooke’s music video choreographer, whose choreography he disapproved of. “I’m not afraid of another lawsuit,” he told the choreographer, demanding a more family-friendly routine.
After the cancellation of Hogan Knows Best, Brooke went on to lead a two-season spinoff, Brooke Knows Best.
Cheating scandal and bitter divorce
Not only were Brooke and Nick’s budding careers riding on the success of Hogan Knows Best, but so was Hulk and Linda’s marriage.
Hulk once shared his hope that the series would repair their turbulent relationship; however, Linda admitted in 2006 that it, in fact, did the opposite.
“We can endure, it’s just that sometimes it’s the superficial stuff on the surface that is just hard to deal with,” she said on a 2006 episode of The Howard Stern Show. “It’s stressful with cameras in the house... Sometimes, we hate each other.”
After 24 years of marriage, two children, and one hit reality series, Linda filed for divorce from Hulk in 2007, amid accusations that Hulk had cheated with one of Brooke’s friends, Christiane Plante.
As reported by Today, Plante confirmed to the National Enquirer that she had begun a relationship with Hulk “at a time when [he] and Linda privately knew their marriage was ending.” Plante clarified to the tabloid that Linda “had left him already, although no official papers had been filed.”
Hulk, on the other hand, denied the allegations, calling them a “pathetic plea for attention.” Hulk’s separation from Linda was finalized two years later, with her telling The Tampa Tribune at the time that the “war is over.”
Their divorce marked only the beginning of a series of subsequent legal battles, including disputes over finances and Linda’s allegations of abuse in her 2011 memoir, Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes.
As part of their divorce settlement, Linda received a significant portion of their assets. She was reportedly entitled to 70 percent of their liquid assets, 40 percent ownership of Hulk’s various businesses, and a portion of his multi-million dollar Gawker settlement.
Then, in 2019, Hulk was ordered to cover Linda’s hefty $180,000 legal fees, incurred during their prolonged two-year divorce. The judge ruled that Hulk was responsible for “the vast escalation of fees and costs,” in filings seen by the Daily Mail. It was discovered that he had indeed made Linda jump through several legal hoops in an attempt to prevent her from earning a share of his Gawker settlement.
“Consistently, Hulk Hogan and his controlled Entities did all they can to prevent Linda from obtaining the discovery proving his failure to comply with their marital settlement agreement and diverting of money Linda should be receiving,” Linda’s lawyer told the tabloid after the victory.
“Quite frankly, Judge [Peter] Ramsberger had enough and justifiably ordered Hulk Hogan to pay all of Linda's then incurred fees and costs he required her to spend to obtain the information she is clearly entitled to.”
Years earlier, following the publication of Linda’s memoir, Hulk sued her for defamation over accusations that he physically abused her during their marriage.
In one passage, she alleged that Hulk “tore my shirt, threw lamps, and held me down on the bed with his hands around my throat during arguments. Slamming doors. Pounding walls. I was always afraid he would kill me in one of his rages.”
She additionally claimed that Hulk had engaged in a sexual relationship with fellow WWE star, Brutus Beefcake.
Hulk vehemently denied the allegations, with his lawsuit stating they “harmed the reputation of Mr. Bollea, exposed him to distrust, hatred, contempt and ridicule.”
Beefcake also denied Linda’s claims, telling US Weekly in 2011: “If any of that was true, I would admit it, and (if) I was a homosexual I would embrace it.
“It’s just so crazy to hear, so I have a real problem with it 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,” he said, calling her claims “so ridiculous. I don’t mean to laugh about it, because it’s not funny. But it’s insane. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Leaked sex tape and racist rant
Hulk’s biggest controversy surfaced in 2012, when gossip blog Gawker posted a sex tape of Hulk and Heather Clem, the wife of his then-best friend, radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge. The video, which had been recorded in 2006, was made without his knowledge, Hulk later said. He additionally claimed that Bubba had given the tryst his blessing, which came at a time when Hulk was at a “low point” and his marriage to Linda was collapsing.
Hulk sued Gawker over the release of the video in what became a years-long, multi-million dollar lawsuit bankrolled by billionaire tech mogul Peter Thiel. Hulk eventually won the case, with the jury awarding him a whopping $140 million. However, both parties agreed on a $31 million settlement that led to the website going bankrupt.
The sex tape proved controversial not only because of the extramarital affair, but also because it captured Hulk making a string of racist comments about his daughter dating a Black man.
In 2015, several publications reported transcripts from court documents in which Hulk could be heard saying: “I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f*** some n*****, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n***** worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player… I guess we’re all a little racist. F***ing n*****.”
Hulk was consequently dropped by WWE over his remarks. He later issued an apology, insisting: “This is not who I am. I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise. I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
Daughter’s years-long estrangement
Behind the scenes, amid the breakdown of his public image, Hulk was also dealing with a falling out with his daughter. Brooke had reportedly been estranged from both her parents for several years leading up to her father’s death.
Brooke, who is now married to former professional ice hockey player Steven Oleksy, addressed the family feud in March.
“I have completely separate reasons for going no contact with each of my parents,” she explained in an Instagram video. “This decision was made based purely on how they have each dealt with me directly my entire life.
“What I’m about to say is not pointed at either person. And is in no particular order when it comes to who did what. It is my own personal truth, and you can do your own math,” continued the mother of twins, Molly and Oliver, born in January.
“I have been EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood,” Brooke claimed. “Sadly, it would frequently turn physical. And sometimes it’s not by the person you would assume, abuse comes in all shapes and sizes. This vicious pattern has robbed me of any sense of self-esteem or confidence I’ve been trained to pretend to have.”
Her Instagram video came in direct response to an earlier video Linda had posted, in which she tearfully admitted: “It’s been 15, however long years since I left Hulk Hogan, and my family is the worst mess.”
After accusing Hulk of being a “complete liar” and “sex addict,” she claimed he was the reason she had been estranged from Brooke for eight years.
“Brooke doesn’t talk to us,” Linda said. “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.”
Linda has vehemently denied abusing her daughter, writing in a lengthy Facebook post: “Brooke is a narcissist just like her dad ..going out .. spewing lies to everyone and I’m supposed to defend my truth against that.
“I think I spanked Brooke once yeah I called her a couple couple of names, by no means ever treated her the way she’s painting it,” she claimed. “She could’ve posted horrible things about me back when all of this was supposedly happening, but nothing she didn’t because nothing was happening.”
According to a US Weekly source, Hulk had no idea why Brooke no longer spoke to him. “Terry not speaking to Brooke is [a] much more recent thing [than her not speaking to her mother],” the source said, adding that Hogan “tells people he doesn’t specifically know why Brooke won’t speak to him.”
Their final conversation, according to TMZ, is said to have occurred in 2023, two weeks before he tied the knot with his third wife, Sky Daily, at a ceremony skipped by Brooke.
During the phone call, Brooke reportedly expressed her love for Hulk and told him he shouldn’t be working so hard with his declining health. Hulk apparently rejected her concerns, and the two didn’t speak again.
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