One of late WrestleMania star Hulk Hogan’s toughest matches was fought outside the ring — with his daughter Brooke.
After being estranged for years, daddy and daughter managed to repair their drama-filled relationship when the new mom of twins, 37, reached out to her dad just days before he died from cardiac arrest at age 71 on July 25, a insider says.
“It was a tearful conversation, albeit a short one,” reveals the insider. “Brooke told her dad how much she loved him, how much she missed him. Hulk said he loved her, and he was sorry. That was huge for Brooke to hear. Everyone knew how stubborn Hulk could be, but his fading health obviously softened him up. He knew he was dying and begged her forgiveness.”
Five days after he passed, Brooke posted a long message on Instagram to clarify the truth about their relationship, claiming she had to create distance between them “to protect my heart.”
“My father and I never ‘fought,’” she wrote. “It was a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know, or understand.” Brooke explained that she felt her father begin to pull away as he no longer wanted her support or advice as he faced numerous health challenges.
The WWE champ revealed he’d had 25 surgeries in the past decade, including 10 back operations, knee and hip replacements and procedures on both shoulders. He blamed the injuries on the dangerous conditions of the ring in the 1970s.
“We’d been through almost 25 surgeries together, and all of a sudden he didn’t want me at surgeries,” Brooke said.
“But even when they weren’t speaking, she cared about him and worried about him,” says the source. “The important thing is, when he passed away, they were okay again.”
Adds the insider, “Brooke can’t help the current state her family is in right now,” — she’s still estranged from her mother, Linda, 65 — “but she can go on knowing her dad loved her and there was peace between them before he died.”
