The Real Reason 1 of Hulk Hogan’s Kids Didn’t Attend His Funeral After They Were Snubbed in His Tribute
Grief is complicated. And the many ways people deal with it are sometimes judged by the world around them, when the truth is that there is not one way to grieve. That is especially true for fractured and complicated relationships. With the death of Hulk Hogan, there has been a lot of talk about his relationship with his kids and how they have honored his memory or not.
Brooke Hogan, whom Hogan shared with ex-wife Linda, didn’t attend his funeral and is now opening up about her reason why. Hogan was laid to rest in a private funeral in Clearwater, Florida, on Tuesday, August 5. He passed away on July 24, at age 71, due to a heart attack.
Related: Who will inherit Hulk Hogan’s money after his death
In an Instagram post featuring photos of her, her husband Steven Oleksy, and their twins Oliver and Molly, Brooke explained her reasoning for missing the funeral. “My father hated the morbidity of funerals,” she wrote. “He didn’t want one. And although I know people grieve in many ways – and I’m so grateful for all celebrations and events organized to honor him, as his daughter, I had to make my own decision to honor him the best and most genuine way I knew how…privately…the way that made me feel the closest to him.”
“The only thing missing today was him in is pop up lawn chair watching the waves… and the sunset 💔,” she added.
She also shared a post on her Instagram Stories about taking their babies to her father’s favorite place, the beach. “We will be celebrating your life and all our good memories while we have our feet in the same saltwater you loved. Until we meet again, daddy,” Brooke wrote, alongside a white heart emoji and a picture of herself and her dad.
Brooke was also absent from the WWE SummerSlam 2025 event in New Jersey, held two days after her father’s death. Her brother Nick, however, did attend, and even seemed to be holding back tears as the WWE paid tribute to Hogan. But why did she not attend? Well, she made it clear on an Instagram Story that it was not her decision.
“For those of you giving me crap for not attending my Dad’s tributes, @wwe did not extend an invite,” she wrote.
Hogan also shared a post that delved into her complicated relationship with her father, whom she had not been in contact with for the past two years. In her post, she made it clear that even though they weren’t in the best place with each other, she still loved him. “My dad’s blood runs through my veins. His eyes shine through my children. Our bond has never broken, not even in his final moments,” she wrote. “We had a connection deeper than words, one that spanned lifetimes. I am so grateful I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens. We shared a quiet, sacred bond, one that could be seen and felt by anyone who witnessed us together. When he left this earth, it felt like part of my spirit left with him. I felt it before the news even reached us.”
And though Brooke Hogan did not attend the funeral, she paid respects to him in her Instagram tribute. “… I know he’s at peace now, out of pain, and in a place as beautiful as he imagined. He used to speak about this moment with such wonder and hope. Like meeting God was the greatest championship he’d ever have,” she wrote.
