[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Brooke Hogan is getting candid about her strained relationship with her famous parents. But let’s rewind a bit…
On Wednesday, Linda Hogan shared a video of herself crying on her Instagram Story in which she discussed her lengthy estrangement from her daughter. However, she firmly blamed Brooke’s dad, ex Hulk Hogan:
“It’s been 15 — or longer — years since I left Hulk Hogan and my family is in the worst mess. 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 [Hulk’s real name]. I don’t know how that reflected onto me, but she cut me out too.”
She claimed it had been eight years since she spoke to Brooke and that she didn’t understand why she was cut off. They exes also share a son, Nick, 34, who Linda insisted is a “good boy.”
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You can see Linda’s teary video (below):
@tmz #LindaHogan broke down on social media, tearfully saying, “My family’s in the worst mess.” Full story in bio!
Now, Brooke is opening up — and making it perfectly clear Mom was NOT collateral damage here! She says both her parents are to blame for the abuse she suffered!
On Thursday, Brooke shared a lengthy statement on Instagram, claiming she experienced “vicious” abuse at the hands of the professional wrestler AND his now-ex-wife. Brooke began by explaining that she has tried her best to “ignore issues surrounding” her family — so much so that she’s let her career take a hit just to avoid the drama. But after people started sharing her mother’s “concerning” video with her, she felt she had to speak up, teasing that what she is about to reveal is just “the tip of a very large iceberg” and “does not even scratch the surface of what [she’s] dealt with [her] entire life.” Brooke wrote:
“I will start by saying this video is mild compared to behavior I have witnessed for the greater portion of my life.”
She went on to note that she was going to “keep things as vague as possible to continue to protect people… that should have protected me.” Oof.
Brooke began by addressing the estrangement, insisting she has “completely separate reasons for going no contact with each of my parents” (as well as her dad’s other wives) and that the choice was made “based purely on how they have each dealt with me my entire life.” That means Linda’s situation was very much her own doing. She then shared:
“What I’m about to say is not pointed at either person. And is in no particular order when it comes to who did what. It is my own personal truth, and you can do your own math.”
The allegations to follow are truly upsetting, as the singer expressed:
“I have been EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood. Sadly, it would frequently turn physical. And sometimes it’s not by the person you would assume, abuse comes in all shapes and sizes. This vicious pattern has robbed me of any sense of self-esteem or confidence I’ve been trained to pretend to have.”
She was “trained to pretend to have” confidence…? OMG, we feel that in our souls…
The 36-year-old claimed:
“Up until adulthood, I’ve received berating and vile text messages, verbal, public reamings with unbelievably hurtful words said to me that cannot be forgotten. I’ve been ASKED to defend poor behavior to the public and have done so out of love. Only to find I was misinformed, manipulated, and lied to. Still to this day I face constant ridicule for those poor decisions of others. I’ve watched others benefit financially off my suffering and embarrassment caused by their selfish behavior. While it caused my life to crumble, I continued to stay strong and silent.”
We can certainly remember some times Brooke defended her dad in particular. Hmm… She continued:
“I was expected to — and DID forgive massive blows to my career and personal life, nasty behavior, omissions of truth, blatant lies, manipulation, and repetitive errors in hope of renewing previous family bonds. 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.”
Certainly not!
Elsewhere, the TV personality acknowledged she’s “longed for a normal family, but it never came to fruition” despite years of trying to “see good in them, protect, help, and start anew.” After continuously getting pulled “into the darkness with them” and having her boundaries ignored, she had to step away. Now, she is breaking this pattern for her and her new family’s sake:
“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. My heart hurts every day, and not a day passes it does not affect me. Inside of me, there is a little girl who desperately wants and needs her Mom and Dad.”
Aw!! Sadly, she knows she has to do the hard thing for her own well-being, pointing out:
“Their behavior became more painful than their absence.”
Jeez. That’s so tough. But this is her choice and something she believes is going to set her up for more health and happiness moving forward, she concluded her emotional post:
“Life is so precious. I want so much to be able to enjoy what’s important… my children and my life I have worked so hard to create and protect — and I hope everyone can give me the chance to do that without injecting any more poison into it.”
Whoa. Kudos for her for getting out of an allegedly toxic situation — that’s not easy under any circumstances, but when it’s family? When it’s your parents? It’s so much harder.
See her full statement (below):
Brooke notably skipped Hulk’s 2023 wedding to Sky Daily, sharing at the time that she was putting her own “healing and happiness” first. She also quietly married Steven Oleksy in 2022 and they welcomed twins in January. She thanked her hubby on Wednesday by sharing a quote in her IG Story that read:
“My husband clapped so loud for me that I stopped noticing who didn’t.”
So sweet. We’re glad she has his support! So sad to hear all she’s dealt with — and we’re sure it’s a lot worse considering she’s going out of her way to still protect those that allegedly harmed her. So far, neither of her parents have commented on these accusations.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
[Image via Ivan Nikolov/Judy Eddy/WENN & Linda Hogan/Instagram]
