Hulk Hogan’s funeral saw the late wrestler’s friends, family, and former colleagues gather to pay their final respects, but his daughter, Brooke Hogan, was notably not in attendance. Given their relationship at the time of Hulk’s passing, that might have some thinking her absence was a snub. However, the opposite is true, and the former reality star shared via social media that choosing not to attend the funeral was her way of honoring her father and what she believed he would have wanted.
Brooke opened up about not attending the service in a touching Instagram post. “My father hated the morbidity of funerals. He didn’t want one,” she began her caption. For that reason, she continued, “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.” Brooke went on to share that she, her husband Steven Oleksy, and their children had spent the day at the beach in his honor. “Daddy, we honored you in the simplest wat that agreed with my soul … Every grain of sand and every wave reminded me of being your beach baby, and brought us closer to you,” she wrote.
It bears mentioning that despite Brooke having decided against going to the funeral herself, she certainly didn’t begrudge those who did. On the contrary, her post began with a note that she understood why others felt it was important. “I know people grieve in many ways,” she acknowledged, before adding that it had been special for her to see the outpouring of love her late father received. “I’m so grateful for all the celebrations and events organized to honor him,” Brooke said.
Brooke addressed her dad’s no-funeral policy in a podcast
Instagram wasn’t the only place Brooke Hogan addressed her dad’s stance on funerals. The day of the service, she also called in to “The Bubba the Love Sponge Show” and mentioned that it had come up in a conversation they’d had ahead of her wedding to Steven Oleksy.
Speaking on the podcast, Hulk Hogan’s only daughter shared that she’d asked him to walk her down the aisle — and that he was the only person she’d asked to be there. However, she explained that he’d said no. “He goes, ‘I don’t — nope, I don’t do weddings, I don’t do funerals anymore.'” Brooke added that when she asked if he’d consider making an exception just once, she was still met with a resounding no, though he reiterated that they had his blessing even if he wasn’t there himself. “‘You can’t get me to leave the beach,’ you know, was his thing,” she said.
In light of Hulk’s aversion to funerals and choice to spend his days at the beach instead, Brooke’s sendoff certainly is a fitting one — and she addressed that in her Instagram post. “The only thing missing today was him in [his] pop up lawn chair watching the waves … and the sunset,” she penned. There’s no wrong or right way to grieve, but it’s clear Brooke is committed to honoring her dad as she knew him, and we’re wishing her nothing but peace.
