Hulk Hogan Attempted Suicide — And an Unexpected Phone Call Saved His Life

Alexandra Stone Thu, July 23, 2026 at 11:27 PM UTC

0

Hulk Hogan revealed his near suicide in his 2009 book.MEGA

Hulk Hogan was seconds away from taking his own life when a phone call changed everything.

As the first anniversary of his death approaches, RadarOnline.com revisits one of the darkest times in the controversial wrestler's life and the person who kept him going.

Hulk Hogan Pondered Suicide

Hulk Hogan's attempt was after his wife Linda filed for divorce.MEGA

Hogan, who died last year after suffering a heart attack at 71 years old, recalled a moment when he planned to die by suicide in a resurfaced excerpt of his 2009 book, My Life Outside the Ring.

"I’d been staring at myself in the bathroom mirror for two days straight. Two days," he penned. "A gun was in my hand, and my finger was on the trigger, and I was thinking, It would just be so easy."

This period of life came after his wife, Linda, filed for divorce following 23 years of marriage and amid other family woes involving his children, Brooke and Nick.

Hulk Hogan recalled taking Xanax and drinking alcohol in his bathroom.MEGA

"The weird thing was, I didn’t even remember bringing that gun into the bathroom. When did I pick this up? Was it in the safe? Did I have it in the car with me the other night? I bought that gun years ago to protect my family. A last resort. Was I really gonna use it for this?" he asked in the pages of the tell-all.

He revealed that he took half a Xanax pill and then drank from a bottle of Captain Morgan rum as he considered his own death in a house that felt "empty" and "too quiet."

Advertisement

"I don’t do well alone. My kids were gone. My wife was gone," he said. "She had left before, but this was different. She didn’t want to fix things."

How Leila Ali 'Snapped' Hulk Hogan 'Out' of It

Hulk Hogan was had a gun on him when a phone call from Leila Ali interrupted him.MEGA

The WWE alum was in the middle of truly pondering ending it all when he was interrupted.

"All of a sudden the phone rang, and it was Laila (Ali)," he said, referring to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali's daughter.

Laila, 48, who is also a star athlete in her own right, and co-hosted the revival of American Gladiators with him in 2008.

"She said, ‘Hey, what’s going on? You’re on the set. You’re all depressed. We’re worried about you. You going to be OK?'" he wrote in his book. "

"Obviously I didn’t kill myself — but I came d--n close," he said. "And if it weren’t for a completely unexpected phone call that snapped me out of that stupor, I might have followed that dark road all the way to its end, and I might not be here writing this book today."

'I Got Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired'

Former wrestler Hulk Hogan said Laila Ali's voice 'saved' his life.MEGA

Later, he delved deeper into the moment during a 2009 appearance on the Today show.

"She called with no agenda, just to say hi and check on me," he said at the time while speaking with host Meredith Vieira. "At that moment I switched gears. I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. Her voice saved my life, it really did."

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”