The Tragic Story Of Hulk Hogan's Daughter Brooke

The only daughter of professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea), Brooke Hogan has had a stunning transformation over the years from a singer and television star to a short stint in wrestling. Best known for being part of her family's VH1 reality show "Hogan Knows Best," and its spin-off "Brooke Knows Best," life looked good for the beautiful blond on camera, but behind the scenes she was wrestling with a different tragic story.

Born Brooke Ellen Bollea in Tampa, Florida, the TV daughter shared more than just her father's bleach blond hair, she also inherited his athletic abilities. Growing up, she participated in dance, gymnastics, and cheer, and seemed to share her dad's love of the spotlight, appearing with him on an episode of VH1's "(Inside) Out: Hulk Hogan, Stage Dad." That appearance was the springboard for the family's reality television career, but Brooke's own career never took off in the way she'd hoped. Ultimately, public family scandals took their toll and she backed away from the limelight.

So whatever happened to Brooke Hogan? She quietly married professional hockey player Steven Oleksy in a private 2022 ceremony that few knew about until a year later. "We just kind of picked a pretty little park and had a pastor there, and then just kind of did it," Brooke told Us Weekly. The reality star and her gorgeous husband are the parents of fraternal twins Oliver and Molly, and the family lives a relatively private, camera-free life.

Brooke Hogan and her little brother, Nick Hogan, have always enjoyed a close relationship. "He's the best little brother ever," Brooke said in an interview with Miami New Times. "So many people have a twisted impression of him, but it's only what they see in the press." That "press" Brooke referred to was a car accident that landed her then 17-year-old brother in the slammer, and his friend, John Graziano, in a coma. "I have to admit I did have a little bit of a breakdown one time about that 'cause my brother and I are inseparable," Brooke told Maria Menounos in an "Access Hollywood" interview, per Today. "I'm always used to protecting him, he's always been my little brother."

Her brother's eight-month sentence for reckless driving wasn't the only part of the story that rocked Brooke's world. In tapes released from his prison phone calls, a damning conversation between Nick and his famous father, Hulk Hogan, came to light. "For some reason man, God laid some heavy s**t on that kid man," Hulk said on the phone to his son in regard to Graziano, per Today. "John was a negative person," Nick replied. "Will you work on that reality deal?" Brooke, who has questioned the legality of the tapes' release, claimed she had no knowledge about that conversation. "I don't really know about that," she said. "I just know that my family has total love for John."

The only thing cringier than your dad dating a woman your age is if she is also your best friend. Just ask Brooke Hogan, whose father, Hulk Hogan, had an affair with her BFF Christiane Plante. Brooke expressed her sadness the way many young people did before social media — by posting on her MySpace blog. Per Today, she wrote, "I'm going through one of the hardest issues I've ever had to deal with in my life ... please keep me and my family in your prayers." The betrayal was a double-whammy for the bubbly blond who lost faith in both her father and her friend. Ultimately, both relationships were irreparable, despite Plante's claim that she tried to make amends. "Having felt the guilt and pain build up, I gave a note to Brooke apologizing for my actions," Plante told the National Enquirer, per Today. "I will never be able to fully forgive myself for this. I have lost an amazing friend."

The WWE star is one of many famous men who left their wives for much younger women, and his infidelity may have been why Hulk Hogan and his ex-wife, Linda, split after 24 years of marriage. However, Plante claimed that the marriage was already on the rocks. "My relationship with Terry began at a time when Terry and Linda privately knew their marriage was ending," Plante told the tabloid. "She had left him already, although no official papers had been filed."

The year 2007 marked the end of "Hogan Knows Best," but more importantly, it marked the split of Brooke Hogan's parents, Hulk and Linda Hogan. No divorce is pretty, but theirs was particularly ugly and devastating to their daughter, who felt caught up in the chaos. "Something that kind of stunk about my parents' divorce is that it left my brother and I, just our whole family sprawled out and imploded," Brooke told Distractify. "We just went in every direction. I think I moved like 16 times."

Like many children of divorce, Brooke said she felt pulled to choose between her parents. Despite the drama surrounding Hulk's hookup with his daughter's best friend, Brooke leaned on her father and brother whom she said "have been the most consistent relationship" in her life. That decision didn't go over well with her mother. "The family dynamic, being completely genuine with you, it makes me sad," Brooke said. "It really does. I mean my mom and I don't talk, which is kind of like our third stint of going and doing that, and it is sad." Sad, but not surprising considering the accusations the mother and daughter have hurled at each other on social media. In a lengthy, now-private Instagram post (viw Parade), Brooke said, "I've been used as a pawn, a buffer, and been treated like I'm downright stupid too. No child or human should ever experience something like this." 

As if her father's alleged affair with her bestie wasn't humiliating enough, Brooke Hogan's mother, Linda Hogan, began her own eyebrow-raising relationship with one of her daughter's former classmates, Charley Hill, who was 30 years younger than Linda. "I don't believe what's going on, you know," Brooke said of her mom's new relationship in an exclusive "Access Hollywood" interview. "I don't condone it and I'm like, 'Who are you?'"

Apparently, her mom didn't care what Brooke or anyone else thought about the May-December romance. In an interview with "Good Morning America" (via ABC News), Linda admitted the romance was "definitely weird," but said she was in love. As for being labeled a "cougar," Linda was not only unfazed — she seemed to take pride in the moniker given to her by the tabloids. "It's kind of a fad now, it's cool," she said. 

The relationship may have been a "fad" too. After they appeared on VH1's "Couples Therapy," Linda announced that the pair had called off their engagement. "After the great therapy we had together and time to think and concentrate on who we are and who we want to be, Charley and I decided that we should each travel through life in different directions," Linda wrote on Facebook (via E! News). While no details were given, Linda's attorney, Raymond J. Rafool, told E! News, "It is a very positive step for Linda."

Fans of "Hogan Knows Best," loved the bubbly blond Brooke Hogan. When the family, and the show, started to display cracks in the facade, VH1 and the Hogans parted ways, and the network offered the eldest child her own show, "Brooke Knows Best." Despite the chaos swirling around her, Brooke agreed to the spin-off, not because she enjoyed the reality TV life, but because she saw an opportunity to use the show to her advantage. "The first four times we did the reality show, I didn't have my stuff together with my music career," the aspiring pop star told The Spokesman-Review. "So this time, I'm like, all right, I have to start recording an album and using this TV show to my benefit, other than just letting these cameras come into my life to make ratings."

"Brooke Knows Best" followed the oldest Hogan child as she left the nest for the first time and tried to get her music career off the ground. In an "Access Hollywood" interview, Maria Menounos asked Brooke if she felt pressure to succeed in the face of her family's drama. "I don't feel pressure," she answered. "I do feel like if someone can see me slip up, you know, they would love it because it would complete the family craziness. I'm not naturally the type of person that likes to party and start trouble." "Brooke Knows Best" lasted only two seasons. 

There was a time when it looked like Brooke Hogan would become a pop singing sensation on par with the Britneys and Christinas of her day. Instead, she turned into more of a one-hit wonder. Brooke began her singing career as a teen when, at 13, she inked a record deal with Trans Continental and released the single "Everything to Me." The song was a modest success, but not big enough for the label to keep her. Undeterred, and riding her sudden fame from "Hogan Knows Best," the blond bombshell signed with Storch Music Company and SoBe Entertainment, and released "About Us" from the album "Undiscovered." The song did well thanks in part to vocals from rapper Paul Wall, not to mention a video so hot it sizzled. The album sold 30,000 copies in the first week, and it looked like Brooke was poised for success — but then things stalled.

After more label hopping, a move to Nashville, and country and pop releases that never blew up, Brooke pressed pause. In an interview with Irvine Weekly, she pointed to poor management as a possible reason for her failure to become a pop princess. "I would be curious to see what my music could do if I had the proper representation," she said. She also speculated that her family's dramas played a part. "Even if I worked as hard as I possibly could, the forces around me were working against me."

Her father may have been one of the greatest names in wrestling, but Brooke Hogan was not interested in following in his footsteps. Instead, she took her firsthand knowledge of the sport and parlayed it into a short-lived career as the Executive in Charge of the female wrestling division "The Knockouts" on the hit program "Impact Wrestling."

Other than being a descendant of wrestling royalty, (and having knockout genes), fans of the show questioned the blond beauty's qualifications. In a statement to Bleacher Report, Dixie Carter, President of TNA Wrestling, defended her decision to hire Brooke by explaining that she had spent more than a year getting to know Hulk's only daughter. "When we did talk wrestling, I not only loved her passion and knowledge of it, but the fresh, creative ideas she would come up with," she said. "She is very savvy."  

Savvy or not, Brooke's on-air stint didn't last long. Just over a year into the gig, she was reportedly let go due to budget cuts. In a weird twist to the tale, some speculated that her departure had to do with the TNA storyline that claimed she was married to pro wrestler Bully Ray of the champion tag-team duo The Dudley Boyz. Their fictional relationship was a hot topic with wrestling fans, and when Brooke publicly announced her real-life engagement to a famous NFL player, the show's false narrative was pinned against the ropes. 

Fresh off her role with TNA, Brooke Hogan didn't have time to sit around licking her wounds. She had a wedding to plan. Although she played the wife of Bully Ray on "The Knockouts," outside of the ring, she was dating the Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Phil Costa. The NFL player proposed to Brooke in Vegas, and she didn't have to wrestle with the decision. "Happiest moment of my LIFE. I am marrying my best friend. I wouldn't choose anyone else," Brooke wrote under a photo on her private Instagram page (via People). "I am so lucky and so grateful."

However, the couple would never make it down the aisle. Just over a year after she said "yes," Brooke reportedly called off the engagement. TMZ reported that Brooke thought things were moving too quickly and that she wanted to focus on her music. It was also reported that the reality star turned singer turned wrestling host had relocated to LA to be closer to her mother. Neither Brooke nor Costa went public about the breakup, so while no one is certain what really happened, we do know that Brooke went on to eventually marry professional hockey player Steven Oleksy many years later, so it's safe to say he was not the reason she put her prior engagement on ice.

Following her split from Dallas Cowboy Phil Costa, Brooke Hogan moved to LA to be closer to her mother, Linda Hogan, with whom she has had an on-again, off-again relationship. It was no secret that the family dynamic that played out during and after her parents' divorce had been a great source of stress for the Hogan daughter, who often publicly alluded to the actions of her parents and the drama that seemed to follow them wherever they went. Finally, Brooke had enough and went "no contact" with her parents, directing her focus to her husband, children, and building a peaceful life for her new family. 

After an emotional video from her mother regarding the situation went viral, Brooke shared her reasons for the estrangement. "Each individual, on their own, has given me more than enough reasons over the years to make this extremely hard and painful decision to end contact. As much as I not only understand and have empathy for their own struggles, I absolutely LOVE them with every fiber of my being — which deep down I think they know," she wrote in a now-private Instagram post (via the Independent). She went on to explain that she wants to enjoy her life without "injecting poison into it." "I've set boundaries that were not respected, and at this point, I can truly do no more," she said.

Going no-contact with her parents wasn't easy for Brooke Hogan, especially when her mother, Linda Hogan, tried to play the victim. In an Instagram video (via TMZ), Linda blamed her ex-husband for the breakdown of their family, and claimed she had not heard from her only daughter in nearly eight years. The rant was so disturbing that it caused Brooke to break her silence. 

In a novel-length Instagram post of her own, Brooke shed light on what really went on when the cameras weren't rolling, dispelling the myth that she had a happy Hogan life. "I have completely separate reasons for going no contact with each of my parents," she explained. "This decision was made based purely on how they have each dealt with me directly my entire life. ... I have been EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood," she claimed. "Sadly, it would frequently turn physical." She went on to add that her parents' behavior had affected her career, her self-esteem, and her confidence. "While it caused my life to crumble, I continued to stay strong and silent," she said.

The war of words didn't end there. Linda responded to her daughter's allegations on Facebook, where she wrote, "Brooke is a narcissist just like her dad ... going out ... spewing lies to everyone and I'm supposed to defend my truth against that." She added, "I'm not about to do that."

She once described herself as a "daddy's girl," but when wrestling star Hulk Hogan died at 71, Brooke Hogan and her father were not on speaking terms. Hulk's lone daughter had gone "no contact" with her parents years ago and it seemed that not even her father's illness could change that. The estrangement between father and daughter came to light in the media when Brooke refused to attend her dad's wedding to Sky Daily. In a now-private Instagram post (via People), Brooke spoke out about her decision in an attempt to clear up misconceptions. "For my own journey to healing and happiness, I have chosen to create some distance between myself and my family, and am focusing on people and things that heal my heart and align with my own personal beliefs, goals and values," Brooke wrote.

Brooke received word of her father's death via a text from her younger brother, Nick Hogan, to her husband. Although she hadn't spoken to her father in years (despite her husband's attempt to forge a reconciliation), sources told TMZ that Brooke told her dad she loved him in what would be their final conversation. In a since-expired Instagram Story, Brooke's friend, Ashley Menendez, wrote (via Today), "My dear sweet friend @mizzhogan lost her father today. He died knowing what I know, Brooke loved him deeply; was fiercely loyal and only ever wanted him to be peaceful, happy and surrounded by people who valued him for who he really was."