Brooke Hogan has reacted to the death of her father, wrestling icon Hulk Hogan.
“My dad’s blood runs through my veins,” Brooke, 37, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, July 29. “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.”
Brooke argued the “narrative” surrounding her relationship with her father had been convoluted, so she wanted to “clear a few things up.”
After Brooke and her husband, Steve Oleksy, moved to Florida years ago to be closer to him, Brooke said “all of a sudden he didn’t want me at surgeries.”
“Everything started getting covered in a thick veil,” Brooke wrote. “It was like there was a force field around him that I couldn’t get through.”
In the last two years, Brooke explained, she had to “step away to protect my heart.”
“All I ever wanted from my father was love, honesty and a deep connection,” Brooke wrote. “And for a few special years, I had that — with memories that 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.”
Brooke 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.”
Hulk died on Thursday, July 24, a family member confirmed to Us Weekly. He was 71 years old.
Hogan suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, according to the Clearwater Police Department. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Brooke is the daughter of Hulk and Linda Hogan, who also shared a son, Nick Hogan. The family appeared together on the VH1 reality series, Hogan Knows Best, which aired from 2005 to 2007.
Brooke later had her own spinoff on VH1, Brooke Knows Best, which aired from 2008 to 2009.
Prior to Hulk’s death, Brooke had dropped contact with both of her parents in a war of words that played out on social media.
“Brooke doesn’t talk to us,” Linda, 65, said in a video posted via Instagram in March. “She’s had twins. She got married, she didn’t tell us.”
Brooke married former NHL player, Steve Oleksy, in 2022 and the couple welcomed twins, Oliver and Molly, in January.
A source exclusively told Us Weekly in March that Hulk “doesn’t specifically know why Brooke won’t speak to him.”
Brooke told her side of the story in a lengthy Instagram post in March.
“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,” Brooke wrote. “This decision was made based purely on how they have each dealt with me my entire life. … 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, and at this point, I can truly do no more.”
A source close to the Hogan family exclusively told Us in April that Oleksy, 39, had been trying to broker peace with Hulk for “years.”
“Unfortunately, that’s never been in the cards,” the source said.
The insider described the hurt within the Hogan family as “very, very heavy” for Brooke.
“Brooke tries to move more and more away from the letdown time and time again,” the source added.
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