Updated: July 27, 2025

On March 27, 1985, just days prior to the inaugural WrestleMania, Richard Belzer requested on his cable TV talk show Hot Properties that Hogan demonstrate one of his signature wrestling moves. After consistently refusing but being egged on by Belzer, Hogan put Belzer in a modified guillotine choke, which caused Belzer to pass out. When Hogan released him, Belzer hit his head on the floor, sustaining a laceration to the scalp that required a brief hospitalization. Belzer sued Hogan for $5 million and later settled out of court. On the October 20, 2006, broadcast of the Bubba the Love Sponge Show, it was claimed ( With Hogan in the studio ) that the settlement totaled $5 million, half from Hogan and half from Vince McMahon. During his June 23, 2008, appearance on Sirius Satellite Radio's The Howard Stern Show, Belzer suggested that the real settlement amount was actually closer to $400,000.

In 1994, Hogan, having received legal immunity, testified in the trial of Vince McMahon relating to shipments of steroids received by both parties from WWF physician George T. Zahorian III. Under oath, Hogan admitted that he had used anabolic steroids since 1976 to gain size and weight, but that McMahon had neither sold him the drugs nor ordered him to take them. The evidence given by Hogan proved extremely costly to the government's case against McMahon. Due to this and jurisdictional issues, McMahon was found not guilty.

In January 1996, Hogan was accused of sexual assault by a 29-year-old businesswoman on Labor Day weekend in 1995. The incident is alleged to have occurred at the first WCW Nitro taping at the Mall of America in Minneapolis. The woman claims she was helping Hogan to sell merchandise for his Pastamania restaurant and when she went to deliver the leftover merchandise to him at his hotel room after the show, Hogan forced her to perform oral sex on him.[358] She also claimed to have evidence that Hogan raped another woman. The woman and her lawyer sent Hogan a letter agreeing to settle the case financially before making it public, and Hogan sued for extortion. Gene Okerlund claimed he was with Hogan the whole day and denied the allegations. The woman filed a counter-suit against Hogan in 1997.

Gawker Lawsuit:

In April 2012, a sex tape between Hogan and Heather Clem, the estranged wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, emerged online. On October 4, 2012, Gawker released a short clip of the video. In the video, Bubba can be heard saying that the couple can "do their thing" and he will be in his office. At the end of the video, he can also be heard telling Heather, "If we ever need to retire, here is our ticket". Hogan later told Howard Stern on his satellite radio show that, "it was a bad choice and a very low point" and "I was with some friends and made a wrong choice. It has devastated me, I have never been this hurt". On October 15, 2012, Hogan filed a lawsuit against Bubba and Heather Clem for invading his privacy. A settlement with Bubba was announced on October 29, 2012. Clem publicly apologized to Hogan. In December 2012, a federal court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, found that Gawker's publication of the video snippet did not violate U.S. copyright law. Hogan then added Heather Clem as a defendant in the case, allowing it to be re-filed in Florida state court as both were Florida residents. This suit alleged invasion of privacy, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and sought $100 million in damages.

On October 1, 2015, the New York Post reported that a Florida Judge granted Hogan access to Gawker's computer system for a forensic expert to search Gawker's computers and office.

Hogan later sued Gawker for $100 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain,[369] and on March 18, 2016, was awarded $115 million. Also, on August 11, 2016, a Florida judge gave Hogan control of the assets of A. J. Daulerio, former Gawker editor-in-chief, who was involved in the posting of Hogan's sex tape. Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel helped Hogan finance his lawsuit against Gawker Media. On November 2, 2016, Gawker reached a $31 million settlement with Hogan.

Alleged Fabrications:

Hogan was accused multiple times of fabricating elements of his past, including claiming that Elvis Presley was a big fan of his ( Despite Presley dying before Hogan started wrestling ), that the "difference in time zones" flying between the US and Japan caused him to wrestle "400 days in a single year", that the Undertaker severely injured his neck at the Survivor Series in 1991, that both the Rolling Stones and Metallica wanted him to play bass guitar for their bands, and that he was offered the starring role in the film The Wrestler ( 2008 ) but turned it down. During an appearance on Bubba the Love Sponge, Hogan claimed to have a 10-inch ( 25 cm ) penis. During the Gawker trial, he admitted in court that this was not true, claiming he was speaking as the character Hulk Hogan, and not as Terry Bollea.

Family:

In 1983 Hogan married his first wife, Linda Claridge. They have two children: a daughter, Brooke, and a son, Nick. Hogan was featured in the reality television show Hogan Knows Best, with Claridge and their children.

According to an interview in the National Enquirer, Christiane Plante claimed that Hogan had an affair with her in 2007 while the Hogan family was shooting Hogan Knows Best. Plante was 33 years old at the time and had worked with Brooke Hogan on her 2006 album.

On November 20, 2007, Linda filed for divorce in Pinellas County, Florida. In November 2008, Linda claimed to the public that she made the decision to end her marriage after finding out about Hogan's affair. In his 2009 autobiography, Hogan acknowledged that Linda on numerous occasions suspected he was having infidelities whenever he developed friendships with other women, but denied cheating on her. Hogan retained around 30% of the couple's liquid assets, totaling around $10 million, in the divorce settlement. Hogan claimed to have considered committing suicide after the divorce, and credited Laila Ali, his co-star on American Gladiators, with preventing him from doing so.

Hulk Hogan began a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel in early 2008. The two were engaged in November 2009 and married on December 14, 2010, in Clearwater, Florida. On February 28, 2022, Hogan stated on Twitter that he and McDaniel divorced.

Hogan became engaged to yoga instructor Sky Daily in July 2023, proposing to her at actor Corin Nemec's wedding reception. They married on September 22, 2023.

Religious Beliefs:

In 2007 Hogan said, "I've leaned on my religion. I was saved when I was 14. I accepted Christ as my savior. He died on the cross and paid for my sins... I could have went sic the wrong way. I could have self-destructed, but I took the high road".

On December 20, 2023, Hogan was baptized at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida.

Health problems and death:

Hogan suffered numerous health problems, particularly with his back, since retiring as a wrestler following years of heavy weight-training and jolting as a wrestler.

After the procedures failed to cure his back problems, Hogan underwent traditional spinal fusion surgery in December 2010, which enabled him to return to his professional activities. In addition, the Laser Spine Institute used his name on their advertisements, which Hogan claimed was without his permission.

In January 2013, Hogan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute for $50 million, saying that the medical firm persuaded him to undergo a half-dozen "unnecessary and ineffective" spinal operations that worsened his back problems. He claimed that the six procedures he underwent over a period of 19 months only gave him short-term relief.

Hogan died of cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, on July 24, 2025, at the age of 71. His death came a month after he underwent major spinal fusion surgery; his wife Sky denied reports that it was part of a more serious health-related issue.