Linda Hogan to Hulk: 'Be a Big Boy' and Apologize
Linda Hogan has waited patiently to tell her side of the story of her 2009 divorce from wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, and she pulls no punches in setting the record straight about the split in the memoir 'Wrestling the Hulk,' telling PopEater about her motives for writing it and the truth about her new engagement to 22-year-old "soul mate," Charley Hill. Linda, who has kept her ex's surname of Bollea, says it comes down to his alleged cheating and the collapse of trust that came with it. "He's the one who has to live with himself and look in the mirror knowing what he's done, destroyed a family," she tells us, adding that she's forgiven him even though he won't cop to his mistakes.
"I have moved on and forgiven him even though he's never apologized to me or the kids," she told us. "We go through the lawyers. I couldn't care less if I don't talk to him but my kids suffer. It's kind of a cowardly way out. I hope some day he can grow up and be a big boy and talk to his ex-wife for his kids sake."
Did you write this book in response to your husband's memoir?
No, my book had nothing to do with Terry's book. I had a journal I kept for many years and during the divorce it was really difficult to voice my opinion, not that I needed to, but my divorce was so public, it was like my husband was using every media campaign to get his hands on to try and out me and make me look like the bad guy and I really didn't have a voice in that and I thought with my son having got in that horrific accident and going to jail and the divorce, it was just not the time to air my dirty laundry and make things worse. I didn't want to be pouring fuel on the fire then but I thought at some point I will be able to talk and tell my accounting of what I think happened in my marriage which is the truth. it's been a long time coming and I hope that with millions of women in the world going through the same situation as I went through, hopefully when they read the book they'll be able to feel a little bit better knowing that there's some help out there, learn something from this and I'm hoping to help women move forward from sticky situations.
Were you frustrated at being portrayed as the bad guy?
Right, at this point nobody heard my side, he went out there and made it look like I was screwing some 19 year old, my kid's high school friend and it was nothing like that, trying to make it like maybe I was the one possibly doing the cheating. It killed me but I had good lawyers, everything is going through the court system, I don't want to look like a blabbermouth, the truth will come out. At that point I didn't really care what the public thought of me. I was concerned about my kids who were already being embarrassed enough by the public divorce. My job first was to be a good mom, make sure I got through this divorce without too much trouble.
"I have moved on and forgiven him even though he's never apologized to me or the kids," she told us. "We go through the lawyers. I couldn't care less if I don't talk to him but my kids suffer. It's kind of a cowardly way out. I hope some day he can grow up and be a big boy and talk to his ex-wife for his kids sake."
Did you write this book in response to your husband's memoir?
No, my book had nothing to do with Terry's book. I had a journal I kept for many years and during the divorce it was really difficult to voice my opinion, not that I needed to, but my divorce was so public, it was like my husband was using every media campaign to get his hands on to try and out me and make me look like the bad guy and I really didn't have a voice in that and I thought with my son having got in that horrific accident and going to jail and the divorce, it was just not the time to air my dirty laundry and make things worse. I didn't want to be pouring fuel on the fire then but I thought at some point I will be able to talk and tell my accounting of what I think happened in my marriage which is the truth. it's been a long time coming and I hope that with millions of women in the world going through the same situation as I went through, hopefully when they read the book they'll be able to feel a little bit better knowing that there's some help out there, learn something from this and I'm hoping to help women move forward from sticky situations.
Were you frustrated at being portrayed as the bad guy?
Right, at this point nobody heard my side, he went out there and made it look like I was screwing some 19 year old, my kid's high school friend and it was nothing like that, trying to make it like maybe I was the one possibly doing the cheating. It killed me but I had good lawyers, everything is going through the court system, I don't want to look like a blabbermouth, the truth will come out. At that point I didn't really care what the public thought of me. I was concerned about my kids who were already being embarrassed enough by the public divorce. My job first was to be a good mom, make sure I got through this divorce without too much trouble.