The late WWE star details the moment he once considered suicide in the new Netflix docuseries about his life and career, 'Hulk Hogan: Real American'
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NEED TO KNOW
- Hulk Hogan reveals in a new documentary that he once considered suicide amid his bitter divorce with ex-wife Linda Hogan
- The late pro wrestling star says one night he found himself “sitting in front of my bathroom with a gun in my mouth and not knowing what I was doing”
- The Netflix documentary about Hogan’s life begins streaming Wednesday, April 22, and includes his final interview before his July 2025 death
In a new documentary about Hulk Hogan, which includes the late professional wrestler’s final interview before his death last year, the longtime WWE star reveals he once considered suicide while his marriage to Linda Hogan fell apart.
Hogan, who died from a heart attack in July 2025 at the age of 71, tells producers that he once put “a gun in my mouth” after drinking alcohol and taking pills during one distraught episode in the build up to his and Linda’s 2009 divorce.
The embattled pro wrestling icon makes the emotional revelation near the end of a new four-part Netflix documentary, Hulk Hogan: Real American, about his life and career. The documentary begins streaming Wednesday, April 22.
A large chunk of the documentary centers on Hogan’s family life, including his 26-year marriage to Linda, now 66, who he married in 1983. The couple shared two children: daughter Brooke Hogan, now 37, and son Nick Hogan, 35.
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Hogan says in the documentary that his and Linda’s marriage began to fall apart around the time he pitched his family on starring in Hogan Knows Best, the VH1 reality show about his family life outside the ring. The 12-time world champion explains that he hoped filming the reality show would give him and Linda something “in common” to work towards, hoping to bring them closer. However, he explains, they grew further apart — ultimately leading to a bitter and highly publicized divorce.
The pro wrestling star explains the fallout from their broken marriage left him considering suicide one night.
“I went home and I started drinking and you know started eating pills, and I just went down this rabbit hole for a couple days and the next thing I know, I'm sitting in front of my bathroom with a gun in my mouth and not knowing what I was doing,” Hogan says in the doc.
He continues: "I hit rock bottom. I gave Linda 70% of everything because I just didn’t want to ever talk to her again, be with her, I never wanted to see her again. So, I gave her everything to get rid of her and after the divorce I had no money. I was broke, and so TNA [Total Nonstop Action Wrestling] saved me.”
The longtime WWE and WCW star joined the upstart TNA pro wrestling promotion in late 2009, shortly after his and Linda’s divorce was finalized. He joined former WCW head executive and longtime friend Eric Bischoff on the program.
“He was down and he was hurting,” Bischoff says about Hogan at the time. “He was in the darkest most devastating part of his life.”
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In the documentary, Hogan expresses regret for how the final 20 years of his life played out, from the decision to pitch his family on doing a reality show to a number of scandals that bruised his legacy — including a leaked 2007 sex tape and later, an audio clip of him using the N-word, which was publicized in 2015 and led to the WWE firing him and beginning to erase his records and history with the company.
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When asked by Netflix producers when he was happiest, Hogan says he often thinks back to the early years of his marriage with Linda, when their kids were still young.
Linda, who is also heavily featured in the documentary, expresses her own regret for how her marriage with Hogan played out, saying she still “had love for him” even after their divorce.
“I still care about him the same, it doesn’t go away,” Linda says about her late ex-husband. “I wish things would’ve turned out differently for us. But then when he got sick, I realized that my love never faded for him. I still had love for him. I really do. I still love him.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
Hulk Hogan: Real American is now streaming on Netflix.
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