Strange Things About Hulk Hogan's Marriages
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Hulk Hogan was a trailblazer at the peak of his fame, and by most accounts, he's partly responsible for pro wrestling's surges in popularity during the '80s and '90s. Hogan is best known for his successful run as WWE's top babyface from 1984 to 1993, followed by a character revamp in WCW as NWO leader "Hollywood" Hogan. Between both promotions he captured 12 World Championships, and enjoyed nearly 20 years at the top of the card.
The "Hulkster" has also been involved with many dramatic storylines across his career, but unfortunately for him, his real life has itself been rife with controversy. Over the years, Hogan has been at the center of a major racism scandal that even saw him erased from WWE for a few years. Unfortunately, the turmoil didn't end with him, as his children have similarly been followed by controversy, especially son Nick Hogan, who was arrested for DUI only last year.
At time of writing, Hogan has been married three times, and has yet to celebrate his first anniversary with his current wife, Sky Daily. While things seem to be going relatively smoothly, outside of Hogan and a friend of his recently saving a young girl from a car wreck, his marriages have included multiple strange details and numerous scandals. While he'll always be remembered for his contributions to wrestling, Hogan's drama-filled marriage history — most notably with first wife Linda — will probably also come up when people look back at the legacy Hogan ultimately leaves behind.
Hulk Hogan conveniently forgot to publicize his second divorce
Hulk Hogan's current marriage seems to be a happy one from the outside, but it's still unknown when exactly he started dating Sky Daily. The "Immortal One" notably took to social media to share a clip of himself and Daily meeting Bret Michaels backstage after attending one of his concerts. In the clip, Hogan introduced Daily as his "girl," which led to many fans questioning him about his previous marriage.
Following the fan outcry, Hogan took to X to officially announce that he had been divorced from his second wife for some time and that Daily, who he had often been posting with at the time, was his new girlfriend and apologized for confusing his followers. "Yo Maniacs just for the record, the Facebook and Instagram posts are of me and my girlfriend Sky, I am officially divorced, sorry I thought everyone already knew, love my Maniacs4Life"
On February 25, 2023, Hogan and Daily were seen together, and shortly after it was announced the wrestling veteran underwent back surgery. Not long after that, the couple announced their engagement in July 2023. Wasting no time, Hogan and Daily tied the knot that following September. While their relationship and eventual marriage have been a matter of public information since Hogan's clarification, Daily has remained very private, outside of appearing alongside Hogan on his Instagram. It's believed she is or was a yoga instructor, and that she has three children from a previous marriage.
Hulk Hogan's daughter Brooke didn't attend his wedding to Sky Daily
Brooke Hogan might never have followed in her father's footsteps and become a pro wrestler, but she garnered a considerable amount of fame alongside her family in their reality television show, "Hogan Knows Best." Brooke then starred in her own reality program, "Brooke Knows Best," which focused on her budding music career and featured appearances from both her parents. While she never stepped into the ring as a competitor, Brooke was an onscreen character during Hulk's stint with TNA.
While Brooke always seemed close to her father, and was often pictured alongside Hulk and his second wife, she shockingly didn't attend his wedding to Sky Daily in 2023. According to a source who spoke to Hollywood Life, Hogan, and Daily's ceremony was a "low-key wedding" that was only attended by their "nearest and dearest" family and friends. As the news began to make the rounds online, Brooke took to her Instagram to release an official statement and explain why she decided to not attend her father's wedding.
"As many of you know, I value my privacy but unfortunately, a lot of media outlets are making assumptions as to why I did not attend my father's third wedding. Instead of leaving it to speculation, I decided it's better to shut it all down here," she posted. "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." Despite Brooke's absence, Hogan's son Nick attended the wedding with his partner, Tana Lea, and the two posed for several photographs.
Hulk Hogan's second marriage ended after a major sex scandal and lawsuit
Hulk Hogan met Jennifer McDaniel in 2008 after getting divorced from his first wife Linda. The two got engaged soon after, but only tied the knot in December 2010. McDaniel was an accomplished Hollywood make-up artist, and was notably nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Make-Up Artist for the movie "Let Me In," which meant she was likely no stranger to larger-than-life characters like the "Hulkster."
While the couple were often seen together in the spotlight, their marriage was dealt a heavy blow when a media outlet leaked a sex tape of Hogan with McDaniel's friend, Heather Clem, who was married to radio host Bubba "the Love Sponge" Clem. Shockingly, their marriage survived the scandal, and the couple sued the media outlet, Gawker, for both financial losses and allegations that Gawker paired up with Cox Radio to conspire to release the tape and a slew of other charges. Bubba was also sued by Hogan after it was alleged that he filmed the aforementioned tape. He opted to instead settle outside of court, and publicly apologized to Hogan afterward.
When the dust settled, Hogan was awarded $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. The hefty amount resulted in Gawker filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with their media assets being sold off to Univision Communications. To date, Hogan never revealed what ultimately led to his divorce from McDaniel, but as mentioned above, his divorce from her was dealt with privately and it's assumed the two parted on good terms.
Hulk and Linda Hogan had a long distance relationship for years before getting married
Hulk Hogan's longest marriage was to Linda Hogan, as the two remained together for 24 years. Across their two decades together, the Hogans had two children, Brooke and Nick, and notably brought their family into the spotlight with the aforementioned reality television show, "Hogan Knows Best." At the peak of his WWE career, Hogan wrestled all around the world, and before that competed in both AWA and NJPW. Interestingly, despite all the options the "Hulkster" probably had, he met his first wife at a restaurant in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, details of their meeting are sparse, and will likely remain that way due to how sour their relationship ended. While the two began dating sometime after their meeting, Hogan's work schedule made things complicated.
For the next two years, the couple maintained their relationship through long-distance contact. Since this happened in the early '80s, they largely kept in touch through phone calls. Despite that, they stayed together and tied the knot in 1983 in a ceremony attended by Antonio Inoki and Andre the Giant.
Unfortunately for their marriage, Hogan's popularity only increased, and up until the early 2000s, he remained a major name in the industry and consistently toured the globe with the wrestling promotions he was signed to. Ironically, their marriage soured once Hogan stepped away from full-time wrestling and was able to stay at home on a more permanent basis.
Hogan Knows Best likely worsened Hulk Hogan's relationship with his family
"Hogan Knows Best" was a reality television show featuring the Hogan family which aired from 2005 until 2007. At the time, reality TV was really beginning to cement its place in pop culture, making "Hogan Knows Best" one of the earlier successes in the genre. The show was a hit with fans and attracted a substantial amount of weekly viewers, which quickly turned the entire Hogan family into household names.
Unfortunately, behind-the-scenes, things were not going too well. Despite being portrayed as a loving father and husband, Hogan's marriage was slowly falling apart and his relationships with both of his children soured. The producers of the show, however, encouraged the family to continue their happy family facade, which naturally led to more strain. The show's airing also coincided with his 2005 return to WWE, leading many to believe that his return was solely to promote the show and not because he missed wrestling. According to Eric Bischoff on his "83 Weeks" podcast, based on Hogan's own book, the reality show might not have created new issues within the family but definitely worsened already established problems. On top of this, he believes that Hogan regretted doing the show in hindsight.
"I'll go back to Hulk's own book, which is public knowledge, to answer the question, short answer, yes, I think the 'Hogan Knows Best' show probably exasperated an already existing problem. So it's not like 'Hogan Knows Best' created a problem, but it certainly exacerbated it, probably fueled it, probably expedited the end of their relationship and all the other negative things that happened."
Linda claims Hulk Hogan had insane violent outbursts and she feared for her life
With all the issues going on behind the scenes of "Hogan Knows Best," according to Linda Hogan, Hulk Hogan was physically abusive and she regularly feared for her life whenever they got into arguments. Linda detailed some of her experiences with Hulk in a memoir she penned sometime after their divorce. "[Hulk] tore my shirt. He threw lamps. He held me down on the bed with his hands around my throat during arguments, slamming doors, [and] pounding walls. I was always afraid he would kill me in one of his rages." Additionally, in an interview with "Inside Edition," Linda opened up about the worst experiences of her marriage to Hogan outside of the abuse, and also placed blame for the issues their children have faced in the years following their divorce on Hulk as well as her own struggles to get her life back on track.
"My kids to this day are still reeling, and they can't get their feet back on planet Earth," she said. "I can't get my life back on track either. I don't know, what am I supposed to do? Start over now I'm 57? I don't know where I fit in in this world anymore."
Sadly, she also became emotional and further blamed him for ruining all the other things they had together as a family. "My trust, my love, my future, our future family with grandchildren, holidays, weddings, our kids' lives, homes, their ability to trust, our poor animals, friends."
Hulk Hogan had an affair with his daughter's close friend
Despite the allegations of abuse, according to Linda Hogan's publicist in 2008, the reason she filed for divorce was because Hulk Hogan had an affair with their daughter's close friend. "When Linda discovered Hulk had [an affair] with Brooke's best friend, Christiane Plante, she made the decision to call it quits on the marriage," the publicist said during an interview with "E! News." Naturally, Hulk's legal team fired back at the claims, suggesting that Linda was using the story to keep herself in the spotlight.
"It is unfortunate Linda Hogan will do virtually anything to keep herself in the public spotlight. We are not going to demean this process nor the family any longer by responding to what amounts to pathetic pleas for attention." The woman in question, Christiane Plante, confirmed she had a romantic relationship with Hulk in an interview with the "National Enquirer" in 2008. However, she claimed their relationship only took place after Linda and Hulk were apart.
"My relationship with Terry began at a time when Terry and Linda privately knew their marriage was ending," Plante said. "She had left him already, although no official papers had been filed." Plante also revealed that her actions ruined her friendship with Brooke Hogan. "Having felt the guilt and pain build up, I gave a note to Brooke apologizing for my actions. I will never be able to fully forgive myself for this. I have lost an amazing friend." Hulk later denied the many claims of infidelity in his autobiography, stating that Linda often accused him of cheating whenever he befriended any female.
Hulk Hogan found out about his divorce during an interview
As mentioned above, Linda Hogan allegedly initiated the divorce due to Hulk Hogan's affair, but Hulk shockingly found out about the divorce at the same time as everyone else. Per People, a St. Petersburg Times reporter questioned Hulk about his pending divorce during a telephone interview, leading him to simply say "Great information," before hanging up. The "Hulkster" then called back five minutes later, expressing his disbelief in the news.
"I'm kind of shocked. You caught me off-guard. My wife has been in California for about three weeks ... Holy smokes. Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me ... I just pulled over to the side of the road for five minutes to find out what was going on here." According to Hulk in his autobiography, he didn't simply go along with the divorce at first, instead fighting to keep his family intact. "I practically begged her, 'Please, don't file. Our son's just had this accident — if we do this now, it'll make us look like the Britney Spears family. Please, don't file for divorce.'"
However, Hulk has made claims Linda wasn't entirely innocent throughout their marriage, and that she had a drinking problem. "There were plenty of times when Linda would lose it, but no one wanted to see that kind of ugliness on TV." Notably, Linda was arrested for a DUI in 2012 which she ultimately took a plea deal on. While this doesn't discredit the allegations made against Hulk, it does lend some credibility to his side of the story.
Linda Hogan dated a 19 year-old man after her divorce from Hulk Hogan
Hulk and Linda Hogan's divorce was settled in 2009 and according to "E! News," Linda walked away with a substantial amount of the couple's wealth. Linda was notably awarded more than 70% of their joint liquid assets as well as a 40% stake in Hulk's companies. On top of this, Hulk also had to pay Linda a $3 million property settlement. Linda has since amassed even more wealth, and by 2023 it was alleged that she was worth $20 million. She's also gained a reputation for living a lavish lifestyle, and her current home in Simi Valley stretches across 23 acres of land, has a private lake, "infinity pool," and even sports a helipad.
While she gained a large chunk of money out of the divorce settlement, she's had many successful business ventures. Unfortunately, Linda hasn't been too lucky in the love department. In 2008, Linda began dating Charlie Hill, who was only 19 at the time and attended the same school as her daughter Brooke. Despite a marriage proposal from Hill, the two ultimately separated. Sadly for Linda, Hill didn't simply walk away, and according to TMZ, sued her for a whopping $1.5 million for allegedly performing a heavy quantity of menial labor.
Hill later clarified that the lawsuit was due to Linda having him "fertilize 25 acres of avocado trees, dig a creek, wax the yacht, pull reeds from the lake, and work in construction and landscaping." At time of writing, the final outcome of their legal battle was never publicized.