Brooke Hogan is speaking out following the death of her father, Hulk Hogan, with whom she shared a complicated but loving relationship leading up to his death.
In a lengthy, emotional letter posted to Instagram on Tuesday (July 29), the singer opened up about some of her favorite memories of her famous dad and paid tribute to his legacy before clearing up rumors that they were on bad terms before he died. Hulk — who passed away at the age of 71 after suffering cardiac arrest, per USA Today — shared Brooke as well as a son, Nick, with first wife Linda Claridge.
“My dad’s blood runs through my veins,” she began. “I am so grateful I knew the real version of him … We shared a quiet, sacred bond, one that could be seen and felt by anyone who witnessed us together. When he left this earth, it felt like part of my spirit left with him.”
The designer went on to say that her dad often spoke of death with “such wonder and hope” — “like meeting God was the greatest championship he’d ever have,” she noted — before addressing speculation about where they stood in his final years. According to Brooke, her father had needed more than 25 surgeries to treat health issues, but as time went on, he’d started shutting her out of his medical processes.
“We never had a ‘big fight,’” Brooke wrote. “My father and I never ‘fought.’ It was a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know or understand.”
“All of a sudden he didn’t want me at surgeries … It was like there was a force field around him that I couldn’t get through,” she continued. “I felt a disconnect. What followed were respectful disagreements that took an emotional toll on me.”
The public began to sense that Brooke had distanced herself from her family in 2023, when she didn’t attend her dad’s wedding to third wife Sky Daily, according to People. This past March, Brooke’s mom also reportedly posted that the musician “didn’t tell” her parents when she got married to husband Steven Olesky, or when she welcomed twins in January.
But by Brooke’s account, “during the last two years, I had to step away to protect my 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 explained. “I know in my heart I did everything I could. He knew I would run through a burning building for him.”
Though Brooke acknowledges that she wasn’t as close to her dad leading up to his death, she emphasized that she will always remember him fondly. “I’m deeply grateful for the love, tributes and memorials from his fans and friends,” she ended her letter, which she followed up by posting a slideshow of father-daughter photos. “His life was one worth celebrating — and always will be.”
Brooke’s message comes five days after a rep for Hulk confirmed his death in a statement to Billboard on July 24. “We are heartbroken,” it read. “He was such a great human being and friend.”
One of the most widely recognized athletes to have emerged from pro wrestling, Hulk found fame outside of the sport as well. In addition to taking on a number of acting roles, he starred in a reality show called Hulk Knows Best that focused on his family life with Linda, Brooke and Nick.
See Brooke’s post below.
