CLEARWATER - Linda Bollea wants a share of two multimillion-dollar local properties she and her husband own as well as alimony, child support and attorney fees.
These are the details in a divorce petition she filed last week in Pinellas Circuit Court against famed wrestler Hulk Hogan after 24 years of marriage. The lawsuit says the marriage is "irretrievably broken."
The couple have one son who qualifies for child support – Nick Bollea, 17, who was arrested this month in connection with a wreck that left a passenger, John Graziano, with severe brain injuries. They also have a daughter.
Linda Bollea is seeking child support and a life insurance policy to cover child support in the event that Hogan dies, the petition states.
She wants wherever she decides to live to be Nick Bollea's primary residence, with Hogan allowed liberal visitation, the petition states. She also wants Hogan to pay for Nick Bollea's health insurance, the petition states.
Linda Bollea wants the couple's assets equitably distributed – including the family's $.7.2 million mansion on Willadel Drive, which has a gazebo, two boat davits, a pool, a fountain and three fireplaces. She also wants a share of a separate $2 million waterfront home, the petition states.
Neither property has a mortgage on it, the petition states.
The couple also have a condominium under construction in Las Vegas; Linda Bollea wants a share of that, too.
If the two cannot work out an arrangement, the properties should be ordered sold, with the money divided equally between the two, the petition states.
Linda Bollea also says she does not have enough money to pay a lawyer, though Hogan does.
Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or [email protected]
* * * * * * * * * *
I hope this doesn't get ugly before it's over. I am still in shock, I always thought this was a rock solid couple. Yeah all couples have problems, and they have had plenty lately, but I never would believe they would divorce. Let's hope something can be worked out.
Even though it was Linda Bollea who dropped divorce papers on hubby Hulk Hogan last week, the 48 year-old celebuspouse is still hoping to save her marriage. Wait ... come again?!
"She keeps saying to him 'Can't we find a way to make this work?," a source close to the couple tells TMZ. "She doesn't want to see the family break up. She really wants to work it out with him. But it is like pushing up against a brick wall. She is heartbroken about it."
And the Hulkster's not so tickled about reports that he learned of the split from a Florida newspaper reporter.
"He actually heard it from his lawyer," we're told. "There was no surprise. It had been coming for a while. They have grown to be two different people. When hardships hit them, it really brings them down. And when they were finally hit with a real problem -- (son Nick, 17, is facing felony charges of reckless driving from an August car wreck) -- they just couldn't make it work."
It’s been a rough few months for Hulk Hogan. In August, his 17-year-old son Nick was in a car crash that left his passenger seriously injured, leading to Nick being charged with reckless driving. Then the news broke last night that Hogan’s wife, Linda Bollea, filed for divorce after 23 years of marriage.
I haven’t written about Nick’s accident and legal problems because I really didn’t think it had anything to do with wrestling. My first reaction was to not write about last night’s news either, but Hogan is perhaps the most famous wrestler of all-time and his marital problems actually could impact the wrestling business.
Like his old rival Ric Flair, Hogan, 54, potentially could end up losing half his fortune in the divorce, which might lead him back to wrestling in search of another big payday. Hopefully he won’t lose the rights to his wrestling name in the divorce settlement like Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat did.
Reports that the Hogans were having marital problems have been in gossip columns and on celebrity Web sites for a while, and the possibility of a split was the focal point of the past season of Hogan Knows Best, the VH1 reality series.
Most wrestling observers believed the marital strife on the show was scripted, or to use wrestling vernacular, a “work,” but maybe it was real after all. Or, perhaps the Hogans have joined other married couples in the wrestling business who separated in real life after acting out scripted marital problems in a story line. That list includes Steve and Debra McMichael, Kevin and Nancy Sullivan, Marc and Rena “Sable” Mero and Diamond Dallas Page and Kimberly.
