Linda Hogan: Strong, independent, super blonde. While her divorce from Hulk Hogan sent out a media spiral of devastation and trouble for her and her family, she developed a sense of independence all her own. And while the media may have painted her as a distraught woman with nothing left other than her two beautiful children, she had a solid history before becoming Hulk Hogan's wife as well as after becoming his ex-wife. Her life consists of several accomplishments including her own business, a published book, and of course, the reality television show, "Hogan Knows Best". What makes her such an interesting person is what goes on behind the scenes, though -- All the things that make her Linda Hogan without the fame attached to her last name.

While there was much sympathy surrounding her divorce in 2009 and the circumstances that led to it, she has proven that her interests and passions go far beyond what her married life was. Being a good mother, activist, and public speaker are all things won't be seen in the media but are what her life now consists of. She's a fascinating character, albeit a bit quirky... But really, which celebrities aren't without their quirks?

20 Linda Marie Claridge Is Her Real Name

It seems like the acting gene runs strongly throughout the Claridge family, and no one would be surprised to know that Linda is related to an actress given her ease in front of the camera. Linda Marie Claridge was the name that she went by up until the point where she married Hulk Hogan, and although she took his legal last name of Bollea as well, she went by the stage name "Linda Hogan". However, her given name is what connects her to another stage presence -- Her sister.

Linda's younger sister Christie Claridge has some acting credits of her own, including Gotcha! in 1985, Airwolf in 1984, and Hunter in 1984.

The fame doesn't stop there, however, because Christie Claridge was also voted Miss Internation in 1982. This blonde bombshell isn't a solo act, and the fame runs deep within their family. Her niece Brooke Hogan also had her own show, "Brooke Knows Best", which premiered after the series ending of "Hogan Knows Best" where she first appeared. When she wasn't acting, Christie Claridge also had a career in fashion modeling, which again is not unlike her niece who has taken very well to her own version of the spotlight.

19 Divorced In 2009

It took whopping four-plus years for Linda and her ex-husband to agree on the financial terms of their divorce.

When the dust had settled (or rather, the allegations), Linda walked away with 40% of her ex's ownership and over 70% of their liquid assets.

While Hulk remained in Florida after the ordeal in a rented house, claiming he was "happy" and "so grateful", his ex-wife bought a house outside of Los Angeles, Cali, where she currently resides. The divorce came about after a sex tape was released and filmed by none other than Hulk's best friend at the time, radio jockey Bubba The Love Sponge. The affair was with his now ex-wife, Heather Cole.

According to Inside Edition, Hulk is seen on the tape saying, "I can't believe I’m here. I should be home" as well as claiming, "I’m just a dumb country bumpkin. My career is over".

Linda had no sympathy whatsoever for her ex-husband afterward, saying that he was responsible for his own decisions and can hold no one accountable but himself. Bubba also had no sympathy for the man, refusing to acknowledge Hulk afterward and instead divorced Heather Cole, calling her a "very evil woman" that he was "embarrassed to have been married to".

18 She Wrote A Divorce Letter, And It Was Heartbreaking

Even celebrities can feel heartbreak (they are human, after all) and in an interview with Inside Edition back in 2016, she openly unloaded all of that pain.

She led by saying that she'll "never be able to forgive" Hulk Hogan for what he'd done after a tape was leaked of him and his best friend's wife.

Linda admitted that she was under the impression that everything was fine and that she and her children were both so happy with their lives up until his infidelity, which he, according to his ex-wife, has no remorse or feeling towards. His only response was to sue Gawker, the site that exposed the scandal publicly. Throughout the interview, Linda breaks down, followed by the interviewer stating that she'd written her ex-husband a letter but was too emotional to read it. In the letter, she'd stated her true feelings and refusal to ever forgive him until he sincerely apologizes to her and her family. The blame of ruining a 25-year marriage was thrust on him via her letter, including the fact that he'd shattered her trust and betrayed virtually every single person in his life. She ended the letter by saying, "And yet you continue in life this very way, still .. Hiding behind those sunglasses, false smile, oh ... and the bandana!" Ouch.

17 Younger Men Are Her Thing

It soon became no well-kept secret that shortly after Linda filed for divorce from Hulk Hogan, she began dating a man who was much, much younger than she was. How young exactly? Well, 29 years, give or take a few months.

Charlie Hill was 19 when he began dating 48-year-old Linda Hogan, and surprisingly, their relationship lasted a solid four years before things finally fell apart.

The media depicted the two splitting as the best thing to do, with the Daily News insinuating in an article from 2012 that Linda knew it "was for the best". However, the two didn't break it off without first announcing their engagement, and we can only imagine how that went considering Charlie Hill is only a year younger than Linda's oldest daughter. It would appear that Linda fully embraced her younger beau, though, and even made mention on the back cover of her biography that she found a way to live her life and found joy in dating a younger man...Well, teenager, anyway. The two split up after four years and some therapy sessions that just couldn't seem to bridge the gaps between the lovebirds, with Linda stating that they were at different points in their lives and needed to pursue their own journeys individually, rather than do it together as a married couple.

16 She Was Arrested In 2012

The same year she split from her super young fiance, Linda Hogan was also arrested for a DUI.

While it's surprising behavior for the former reality star and ex-wife of Hulk Hogan, she initially denied accounts of driving while intoxicated after being pulled over in Malibu and blowing an elevated blood-alcohol reading of .084 during a breathalyzer test. If there's one thing that cops don't care about, it's whether or not you're a celebrity -- They gave Linda two DUI charges and waited for her to plead guilty for driving while intoxicated. In order to get her two misdemeanor charges downgraded, she eventually came clean not long after, admitting that she had, in fact, gotten into her car to drive after drinking champagne. The second misdemeanor charge was dropped, leaving her with only one and the alibi that she only had one glass of champagne but in addition had taken some antibiotics. It was clear that the antibiotics she'd taken had just made the effects of the "one" glass of champagne she'd drunk worse, and before long, she was facing three years of probation alongside three months of alcohol education classes, according to an article published by TMZ in 2013.

15 She Also Sings

Okay, we don't mean she's a professional singer with an extensive career or anything. But she did make it onto a recorded album that featured her ex-husband Hulk Hogan and his various wrestling buddies, along with some select tunes that were very, um, Hulk-specific.

The Wrestling Boot Band was founded by Hulk Hogan and produced exactly one album, entitled "Hulk Rules" back in 1995.

The album itself features a classic photo of Hulk Hogan against an American Flag background, and of course, he's in typical Hulk stance. One of the songs on the album, "American Made" was featured as Hulk's walk-up song, while the rest were just purely for fun and for commercial purposes but soon became a part of the cult classic. Proceeds of the album went to benefit a child's family whom Hulk was in contact with, as their son had attended one of Hulk's wrestling matches and tragically passed on the same day. On that album, you can hear Linda Hogan's voice singing backup vocals. In regards to how Linda sounded in comparison to the rest of the album and other backup vocals, he was quoted as saying she sounded much better than "the rest of the stuff".

14 She Met Hulk At A Restaurant

The lovefest you've seen on "Hogan Knows Best" actually began in a restaurant in the early '80s. Linda and Hulk, also known as Terry Bollea, met in Los Angeles. Everyone knows that L.A. was the place to be in the '80s but what many people don't know is that it wasn't just the music scene that was poppin' -- A romance was quickly brewing between Linda and Hulk. Surprisingly, the two had a long-distance relationship over the course of two years.

They managed to keep the fire between them burning (which was a true feat in the '80s) until 1983 when they were eventually married. At that point, Terry Bollea was already well-known as THE Hulk Hogan, so you know that their wedding couldn't just be anything ordinary.

Linda, known as Linda Marie Claridge back then, wore a stunning white -- And very '80s style -- satin dress with beading details on top and bottom, while Hulk Hogan was dressed to the nines with a very full-on suit...And a few special guests as well. André the Giant and Vince McMahon were also in attendance, as the pro wrestler prepared to take his vows and begin the rest of his life with soon-to-be Linda Hogan.

13 "Hogan Knows Best"

By now, nearly everyone is familiar with the hit VH1 television show that brought even more fame to Hulk Hogan but also finally shed some spotlight on his family as well.

The reality show was filmed in Hogan's home in Florida and featured his then-wife and two children, Brooke and Nick.

For the most part, the show was based on light-hearted family drama and the dynamics of their relationships living under the same roof. Hulk was always trying to keep Brooke from dating unless it was someone he'd approved of, taking on the role of the over-protective dad. However, Brooke wasn't the only child Hulk flashed his protective papa-bear personality to, and was portrayed on television as sheltering Nick quite a bit too. When Nick expressed an interest in following his father's footsteps, Hulk insisted on acting classes to improve his "showmanship" in the ring, while his mother, Linda, was hesitant about the entire situation. She was never fully in support of Hulk resuming his career as a professional wrestler according to media sources, so it comes with no surprise that she would also be hesitant about her son entering a ring of his own. Linda now firmly supports both her son and daughter, both on social media and at home, as Brooke took to the screen once again in competitive games and Nick took to the road as a professional Drifter for Dodge up until 2007.

12 She's A Mom Of Two, And They're Her World

Linda Hogan has two children whom she loves more than anything, as it quite obvious from her social media pages as well as seen on "Hogan Knows Best".

Her oldest, Brooke, was born in May 1988, while Nick was born not long after in July 1990.

This year, the two will be 30 and 28, and their beaming mother has nothing but good things to say about them. In a recent tweet, she shared on her Twitter page shortly after Mother's Day, "Here’s what matters ! @MizzHogan @nickhogan4real are my WORLD !!" With several photographs of smiling children. This isn't the first time she's publicly praised her children; she shares their pictures all the time with comments on how proud of them she is, how they're "keeping it real", and shameless supports the two of them on her social media pages. Their tight-knit bond was seen on their hit reality television show as well, with Linda always being the parent to be just a tad bit more lenient than her now ex-husband. The connection between herself and her children is clearly undeniable and goes to show that no matter what goes on behind-the-scenes, they're a family who rises up and against.

11 She's Actually An Actress

If you look away from the fame that came with her being Hulk Hogan's wife, you'll note that Linda Hogan has an actual credit page attributed to her acting career. While it's short, it's still relevant, and she has made multiple appearances both in movies as well as on other reality television shows. Her first claim to fame was in 1978 when she was featured on the Match Game as a contestant. She appears in episode 203 of season six, and it was her first appearance on the screen. Aside from that, she has three acting credits to her name outside of her own reality show ("Hogan Knows Best") and various professional wrestling features.

Of those listed is Ricky Romance, which was a video short in 2013, Little Hercules in 3-D where she played Mrs. Becker in 2009, and Thunder In Paradise where she appeared alongside her ex-husband in 1994.

In addition to these roles, she's been seen in multiple documentaries and reality television series roles as herself, including multiple E! True Hollywood stories, her daughter's reality show "Brooke Knows Best", and Larry King Live, amongst some other semi-random and singular appearances on various entertainment-related television shows and series.

10 "Wrestling The Hulk - My Life Against The Ropes"

In 2011, Linda Hogan published her first-ever book entitled, "Wrestling The Hulk - My Life Against The Ropes". The book cover features a very sparkly Linda, clad in a silver sequined dress that's enough to put a disco ball to shame, leaning against the ropes of the ring.

The book delves into the behind-the-scenes life of being married to the one and only Hulk Hogan, and from many reviews of the book, is essentially a tell-all about his flaws and awful behavior.

The book, having been written and published by after the divorce of Linda and the Hulk, is described on the back cover as such: "How many people can say they stood up against wrestler Hulk Hogan and came out victorious? Linda Hogan did just that. After twenty-four years of dealing with his cheating, mistreatment, and lies, Linda needed to step out of her marriage ring and start a new life." The book itself is wholly devoted to the tellings of how Linda built up the Hulk and supported his career while being a dedicated and devoted wife and mother, just like what has been seen on television. The plot of the book then goes on to discuss Linda's personal life and how she was able to heal and move on, finally living her life for herself on her journey to self-discovery. While it sounds inspiring enough, the Amazon reviews say otherwise -- We'll leave it up to the readers to decide.

9 She's A Miami-Born Virgo

Linda had her start in life in Miami, Florida, and was born on August 24th, making her a Virgo.

According to her Twitter page, she's very proud of her star sign, and recently retweeted a post from @AboutVirgos, which read, "#Virgo is the sign of Honesty & Communication. Be real with them always or don't [mess] with them."

This simple notion is true to how Linda Hogan makes herself out to be both on television and on the web, with a strong-willed personality and a determined demeanor that's characteristic of someone who has nothing to hide and appreciates open ways of communication. Whether this is true of all Virgos has yet to be determined and depends on how much stock you take in horoscopes, but considering Linda's tortured past relationship with a man who was less than honest and definitely not openly communicative, we can take this as a hint that she means business. The recent Virgo tweet got the attention of those fans who fall under the sign of the virgin themselves and was met with emoji-applause and positive encouragement. Whether it was a slight on her part as a subtle hint to those around her to be 100% open and honest, or just genuinely something she believes in, we don't know -- But it definitely seems to fit her, that's for sure.

8 Once She Accused The Hulk Of Being In The Closet

Divorces can be a messy business and oftentimes people fling insults like there's no tomorrow. In the case of severely traumatic divorces, allegations can be made -- And in the celebrity world of fame where everything is quoted, they can't always be taken back as quickly. With the publishing of her first book detailing the grueling inside life of Linda Hogan herself and her marriage to Hulk Hogan, she was compelled to divulge her account of what went on behind the television scenes. She made accusations against Hulk of being hurt by him every time there was an argument and made him out to look like an all-around monster of a husband. Hulk Hogan didn't entertain the allegations, and instead simply questioned why none of them were brought up at the time of the divorce, and instead splayed out for the world to hear after her book came out.

Whether or not any of it is true has yet to be proven and probably won't be, but among the serious allegations was one launched by Linda claiming that her ex-husband was in the closet. These claims were published in her book, and detailed an affair between Brutus Beefcake and her ex-husband.

Hulk took offense to the accusation not because of what it insulated, but because he himself had friends in the wrestling industry who are oriented that way and claimed if it were true, he would be open about it and it would be "celebrated". Linda retracted what she'd written shortly after, admitting her anger had gotten the best of her and apologized sincerely, according to an article published by the Huffington Post.

7 Appeared On "Couples Therapy"

Linda Hogan appeared alongside her younger fiance Charlie Hill on VH1's Couple's Therapy back in 2012. According to other news sources and fan's interpretations, it comes as no surprise that the two, with an age difference between them of 29 years, had enough problems to require therapy. Charlie Hill, who was a classmate of Linda's daughter Brooke, was with Linda for a solid four years before their eventual breakup in 2012. Prior to that, however, Hill had proposed to Linda, who, of course, accepted.

According to an article by the Huffington Post, trouble was soon to be on the horizon after their stint on Couples Therapy, though, as pictured in a photo that emerged shortly after the show ended.

The photo portrays Linda, her fiance, and two other men from the show. It was taken during a reunion of sorts on Linda's yacht, headed towards the Bahamas. Pictured are Kasey Kahl of the "Bachelor Pad", Chris Nirschel, Food Network chef, and Linda's friend Tom Murro. Age doesn't seem to be an issue among the ex-Hogan wife, and according to Murro, she "She couldn’t care less about the age difference". Age difference aside, clearly there was something keeping her and long-term fiance Charlie Hill together for the four years up until their eventual breakup...It's too bad their "Couples Therapy" didn't work.

6 She Had Her Own Business

Linda Hogan, formerly Linda Marie Claridge, grew up in Miami, Florida. However, she graduated from high school in Chatsworth, California, from Chatsworth High School.

Opting not to go to college after graduation, Linda went on to start her own business and opened up a Beauty and Nail salon right on Devonshire Street in her hometown.

The class of '77 grad had that business as her first entrepreneurship, back when it was much easier to start a business and watch it succeed. The beauty field is something that Linda Hogan is clearly very familiar with, as shown on her television show "Hogan Knows Best". Both Linda and her daughter, Brooke, are very fashion-forward and conscious of their appearance without being self-centered or openly conceited about it. Linda's son Nick also appears on the show to care about how his looks since he sported a shortly-buzzed mohawk at the time of filming. Whether this was intentional or just something that ran in the family, Linda's sister, Christie, also had a career as a fashion model. But hey, in a family of lookers where no one ever actually looks bad, it's easy to see why Linda opted to go into the beauty field before she ever found fame in front of the video camera.

5 She Sold Her Home, Boasting A Water Slide And Waterfalls, For Millions

After divorcing ex-husband Hulk Hogan, Linda Hogan decided to sell her five-bedroom home with all its crazy amenities, for $5.5 million dollars. The home was a Tuscan-style villa that had all the features anyone would want in their home: a helicopter pad, a home gym, a water slide, and even its very own waterfalls.

It's easy to see why this house, set on 24 acres, is well-worth the price -- But the question is, why would you actually want to leave it? We may never know why the reality star wanted to leave her Simi Valley home in California, but what we do know is that's a hefty price to pay. The home that she and her family called another home also has its own vineyard (because who wouldn't want to have their very own wine any time they wanted) and a private lake that spans for roughly one acre and is home to many species of exotic fish. Linda purchased the home post-divorce back in 2010, and at the time paid only $3.5 million for it. We're guessing that a house with a built-in waterslide attraction, waterfalls, more acres than most of us can dream of, and your very own personal mode of aerial transportation any time you want can get tired after awhile.

4 A 30-Acre Avocado Ranch

Halleluja, the avocados are back! We're just kidding, but Linda Hogan did have access to a 30-acre avocado ranch at one point.

The same home that she was reported selling for $5.5 million is home to a massive acreage of avocado trees. The orchard itself houses roughly 2,500 trees which produced a tremendous amount of avocados every year -- About 60,000 pounds worth.

While many of us would consider ourselves insanely lucky to be living on a 30-acre avocado ranch, in the lives of celebrities, it's just another home to buy, live in, and sell. We're sure that Linda loved her Tuscan-style home on the most perfect ranch known to millennials everywhere, but when it comes down to it, who can really eat all of that guacamole? Of course, there's avocado toast as an option as well, but with the daunting task of cutting and pitting 60,000 avocados before they turn brown (which is roughly two and a half hours after they get soft enough to cut), we're thinking the safer option is probably to just sell the house anyway. However, we would love to know whether Linda and her family are fans of the creamy green produce, and how many avocados they actually used from their own trees.

3 Animal Rights Activist

It's not uncommon for celebrities, especially actors and actresses, to take up activism when it comes to an issue they care deeply about. Hogan doesn't deviate from this and uses her social media as a platform to speak out against and raise awareness of animal abuse and neglect. She's an avid animal rights supporter and is a self-proclaimed activist on her Twitter profile page. She shows no animal any kind of bias or discrimination and speaks out against cruelty to all animal life, most recently farm animals and dogs.

Her passion for saving animals is so strong that she even rescues them on her own time, her most recent addition being a horse named "Jamie", short for Jamaica Blue.

She considers all of her rescues to be family and at one point had 18 rescue dogs living with her on her ranch in California. Hogan also abstains from eating any meat in keeping with a common animal rights activist lifestyle, and promotes vegetarianism/veganism on her social media as well as sharing various news, petitions, and videos on the topic of animal abuse around the world. While she doesn't keep anything censored or restrained in her posts, her passion and raw emotion seem to be what her fans love about her.

2 Once She Took In A Chimpanzee

On one episode of "Hogan Knows Best" Linda takes her animal rights activism a bit too far -- At least, "far" in terms of her now ex-husband, Hulk Hogan. On the episode, appropriately titled, "Monkey Business", Linda hears about a monkey that's in desperate need of help and maybe a little bit of attention. She decides to take in the solo chimp, and from that point on, the dynamic of the Hogan house took a shift as the tiny primate threw a bit of a monkey wrench (we just couldn't help ourselves) into the mix.

While the precious baby chimpanzee was cute enough, the Hogan family just couldn't handle all the mischief that one tiny monkey can cause.

Linda's heart was in the right place, but unfortunately, the little primate was just too much for the family to handle. The episode depicts Hulk Hogan hilariously trying to survive mutually in his own home with the chimp, but ultimately, Hogan's house was just not the right place for the rescued mammal. This episode is a nod to Linda's animal-loving, animal rights activist passions and while she tried to do what she thought was the best thing, they quickly learned that monkeys can take a bit more mothering from someone more experienced.

1 She Has Reservations About Her Children Following Their Father's Footsteps

It was evident from "Hogan Knows Best" that Linda had her hesitation and concerns about her children following in the footsteps of their father, Hulk Hogan, in the wrestling ring. Many kids want to be like their parents when they get older, but for Brooke and Nick Hogan, those dreams were definitely more of a reality. Linda expressed openly her hesitation about her husband getting back into the ring, but also felt uncomfortable with her kids doing the same time.

It's no surprise that Brooke found her way into the wrestling world regardless and in a recent article published last year by In Touch Weekly, they commented on the fact that Brooke did, indeed, follow in her father's footsteps by appearing in the ring with him back in 2006.

She has also been a huge supporter of the female wrestling division for Spike's "Total Nonstop Action Wrestling", also known as TNA. For a while, it seemed like she had her hands fully involved with the wrestling world until she moved on to pursue music, which is her true passion. As far as the Hogans' son Nick, his history hasn't been the most stellar, and upon entering the field of fast cars found himself in multiple accidents, with multiple charges and probation. Nevertheless, Linda proudly supports and encourages her children just like any good mom does.

References: intouchweekly.com, sharetv.com, abc7.com, imdb.com, huffingtonpost.com, huffingtonpost.com, tmz.com, nydailynews.com, wikipedia.org, insideedition.com, dailymail.co.uk, twitter.com, famousbirthdays.com, amazon.ca, insideedition.com, en.wikipedia.org, zimbio.com, frostsnow.com, wikipedia.org