Whatever your thoughts were on Hulk Hogan's semi-reality show ''Hogan Knows Best,'' the VH1 show that documented the daily life of the Hogan family was a success for the Hulkster. It ran for four seasons from 2005 to 2007 but was canceled due to the break up of Hulk Hogan and his wife Linda's 25 year marriage. Hogan couldn't really blame anyone for the break up, after all it was he who was caught doing the dirty with Christiane Plante, a 33 year old friend of his daughter Brooke who was helping to launch her music career. Plante always maintained that their affair started while Hogan and Linda's marriage was failing about that wasn't solace enough for Hogan's ex wife. Things turned ultra nasty as both parties started to use the media to sling mud at each other. Hogan accused Linda of being an attention seeker and said that it was pressure from their reality show ''Hogan Knows Best'' that caused them to split. Linda maintained that Hogan couldn't keep his python in his trousers and it was his fault they broke up. Linda's publicist Gary Smith said at the time:
"Almost every statement that comes out of Hulk's mouth is a diversionary tactic to deflect attention away from the real reason Linda filed for divorce, two words: HULK'S CHEATING!"
Deciding to take Hogan through the proverbial ringer, she milked as much as she could from the Hulkster as their public break up turned nasty. Linda took almost 70% of Hulk Hogan's assets in the divorce settlement, including 40% ownership of all his companies. She also got $7.44 Million in cash as well as $3 Million in property. Having blown a lot of his wealth during his hey-day, Hogan was left in a financial mess. He had to quickly sell his Florida home by slashing the asking price and move into rented accommodation. He later admitted that he contemplated suicide due to how bad the situation got. But Linda wasn't through yet. She released an autobiography where she claimed she had to put up with violence from the Hulkster as well as him mentally abusing her during their marriage. She said Hogan was addicted to drugs and that he would kill her. She claimed:
I had a little bit of shoving; sometimes hed squeeze my arm or squeeze my face really hard when he was talking to me, or shove me onto the bed. I just tolerated that, but as the years went on it got worse. Broken lamps, hair pulled out, furniture broken, he threw the dog off the bed, It scared me that he might just snap, not realize what hes doing, he is just so strong. I thought he could kill me. He had his hands around my neck one time on the bed and he started squeezing my throat. He just went into this trance and I looking at him and saying, Terry, stop, stop. I cant breathe. And it was like, all of the sudden, when he lifted his hand off of my throat, it was like something came over him and came back down to earth. But meanwhile, I was like, Oh my God, this is how Im going to die. At that point, I just knew I couldnt let myself ever get in that situation again. It was too close.
Hogan denied this and quite rightly questioned why none of the accusations were brought up during the divorce proceeding. In 2010, 60 year old Hogan found love again by marrying Jennifer McDaniel, a 33 year old Brooke Hogan lookalike. As for 48 year old Linda, she shacked up with Charlie Hill after the divorce. Hill was a 19 year old student who went to the same school as her children, they have since broken up and he is now suing Linda for $1.5 Million because he claims Linda forced him to do tasks such as wax her Yacht and dig a cheek.
