Brooke Hogan Explains Why She Missed Her Father Hulk Hogan’s Funeral

Brooke Hogan is speaking out about the painful final chapter of her relationship with her father, wrestling icon Hulk Hogan — and the heartbreaking reason she chose not to attend his funeral.

In a candid interview with TMZ on Wednesday, August 6, Brooke opened up about the two-year estrangement from her dad, who passed away unexpectedly on July 24 at age 71 after a heart attack. According to Brooke, the rift began over a series of private conversations about Hulk’s relationship with his now-wife, Sky Daily.

“He was feeling uneasy,” Brooke, 37, said, recalling a moment when her father confided in her about tensions with Sky. “He said, ‘If I broke up with her, it’d be bad.’” When she asked what he meant, Hulk replied, “I don’t wanna get into it.”

Brooke, hoping to offer advice, told her father she thought he should end the relationship. But she says his response shocked her: “Well, I haven’t approved of who you’ve dated.”

“That hurt me,” Brooke shared. “There were hurtful things that he kind of said. It was childish … making me cry.” She also remembered being on a job site working on a home for her dad, where a contractor saw one of their interactions and later texted her: “Are you OK, kid? That hurt me watching what I saw.”

“My dad had become a little bit callous in his old age,” she admitted. “And that’s OK.”

Hulk’s funeral was held on August 5 at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida. His ex-wife Linda Hogan, their son Nick, Sky Daily, and her children were in attendance. Brooke, however, was not — and her absence didn’t go unnoticed.

Still, a source told Us Weekly there “was no drama, just respect. No one mentioned Brooke’s absence, and the atmosphere remained classy and filled with love. People were understandably upset and still in shock, as Terry’s passing was unexpected.”

Brooke explained she chose to honor her father in her own way — by going to the ocean with her children. “I’m at peace,” she said. “I feel like I’m getting crapped on for not going to funerals and services … but my dad told me specifically — multiple times — ‘Just burn me up and put me in the back of the ocean behind my house. That’s where my dad is. I want to be in the Gulf. I want to be with my dad.’”

According to Brooke, Hulk “didn’t like the morbidity of funerals. He hated it. And quite honestly, if he knew he were being carted around for two weeks for show, with people that didn’t really know him … is this for my dad, or is this for everybody else?”