Hulk Hogan’s Widow Admits He Had Serious Health Issues
The wrestler’s death came just weeks after his agent insisted he was fine.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Hulk Hogan’s widow admitted the wrestling superstar had been grappling with “some health issues” before his sudden death at 71.
Sky Daily, Hogan’s third wife, posted a tribute to her late husband after he died from a cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday—just weeks after his agent put out a statement saying he was fine.
“I wasn’t ready for this ... and my heart is in pieces,” Daily said in a post on Instagram. “He had been dealing with some health issues, but I truly believed we would overcome them. I had so much faith in his strength. I thought we still had more time.”
She said Hogan loved his fans “despite his growing physical discomfort” and praised both his work ethic and his faith in God, saying, “I take comfort knowing his soul is at peace and he’s been welcomed home.”
Hogan’s death came just weeks after Daily denied rumors that the WWE legend was on his deathbed after he slipped into a coma, assuring fans his heart was “strong” and he was steadily recovering from a recent neck operation.
Although whispers began circulating at the time that Hogan’s recovery may be more difficult and prolonged than anticipated, a representative assured, “He’s had problems with his back for years, but there’s no emergency.”
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Hogan had long been candid about the toll his lifestyle had taken on his body. During an interview with Logan Paul in 2024, the wrestler admitted, “I’ve had like 25 surgeries in the last 10 years. I’ve had 10 back surgeries, both knees and both hips replaced, shoulders, everything.”
In 2023, he opened up about his struggles with prescription drugs and painkillers, which he became heavily dependent on following decades of physical punishment in the ring and steroid abuse.
Hogan's team were forced to deny he was on his deathbed following complications from neck surgery.
FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images
“I was hitting the pain pills hard because I’d had to endure 25 procedures, including 10 to my back, facial operations from being kicked, knee and hip replacements, and abdominal and shoulder surgeries,” the wrestler revealed in an interview with Muscle and Health.
“Hulk has a body ravaged by wrestling, his body is the body of a 140-year-old man with all the bumps and bruises through the years, and his recent neck and back surgeries have been harder to come back from,” a source close to Hogan told the Daily Mail following his death.
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