Brooke Hogan responded to her mom Linda Hogan’s recent claims that they are no longer in touch.
“I try very hard to ignore issues surrounding my family in hopes I might have peace in my life,” Brooke, 36, wrote in a Thursday, March 27, Instagram statement. “Sadly, I’ve intentionally made myself smaller in my professional career in music and TV simply to dodge the public negativity surrounding my family that has continuously and relentlessly overshadowed anything I do.”
She added, “If it were just me, I would continue to take the hits and shrink even smaller to avoid the dangers of speaking publicly. But I have my own family now and it’s affecting more than just me at this point.”
Brooke is the daughter of 71-year-old wrestling legend Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) and his first ex-wife, Linda, 65. The now-exes, who divorced in 2009, also share 34-year-old son Nick. Brooke has since taken a step back from the limelight after marrying Stephen Oleksy in 2022. They welcomed twins Oliver and Molly in January.
Linda, for her part, took to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, March 26, and claimed that she was estranged from her daughter.
Brooke and Linda Hogan at CES 2007 Barry Brecheisen/WireImage
“It’s been 15 — or longer — years since I left Hulk Hogan and my family is in the worst mess,” Linda claimed in a since-expired video obtained by multiple outlets. “Brooke doesn’t talk to us. She’s had twins. She got married, she didn’t tell us. She had a huge fight with Terry. I don’t know how that reflected onto me, but she cut me out too.”
According to Linda, it had been nearly eight years since she last spoke to Brooke. In her social media response, Brooke explained that she had her own reasons for the estrangement.
“I have completely separate reasons for going no contact with each of my parents,” she said. “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. … This decision was made based purely on how they have each dealt with me my entire life.”
Brooke further claimed that she was “extremely verbally and mentally abused” throughout her childhood, which would allegedly “frequently turn physical.” While she did not name her alleged abuser, Brooke stressed that the claims were “not pointed” at either of her parents.
Brooke, Hulk, Linda and Nick Hogan at the VH1 2006 red carpet Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
“This vicious pattern has robbed me of any sense of self-esteem or confidence I’ve been trained to pretend to have,” Brooke added. “It took me many years to figure out the things that were seemingly done ‘for me’ really benefited someone else in a greater capacity. … No child or human should ever experience something like this.”
According to Brooke, she “so badly wanted to see good” in her family members as a way to help and protect them.
“I longed for a normal family, but it never came to fruition,” she claimed. “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.”
As a way to “break the chain” and take back control of her life, Brooke noted that she’s been to therapy and cut off communication with certain relatives.
“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,” Brooke said. “My heart hurts every day, and not a day passes [that] it does not affect me. Inside of me, there is a little girl who desperately wants and needs her mom and dad.”
She continued, “No one wants this, to feel so much pain and not have parents … [and] I hope, one day, they realize, appreciate and respect why I’ve chosen to remain as quiet as possible.”
Neither Linda nor Hulk have publicly addressed Brooke’s message or reasons for their estrangement.
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