Linda Hogan paid tribute to her late ex-husband, Hulk Hogan, on what would have been his 72nd birthday.
“Me and Hulkster,” Linda, 65, shared via Instagram on Monday, August 11, alongside a throwback picture of the pair. “1981 Happy Birthday Terry .. I love and miss you so much.”
Linda and Hulk (real name Terry Bollea) were married in 1983 and separated in 2007. They finalized their divorce in 2009.
The couple shared daughter Brooke, 37, and son Nick, 35.
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Linda first responded to the news of Hulk’s death in a comment on her own Instagram post on July 28.
“I had no idea he would pass away this soon,” Linda wrote. “We all really thought he would make a come back! Big surprise. We are all devastated. It’s hitting me so hard.”
Linda said she “never spoke [to] or saw” Hulk in the years before his death but would get information about his life from Nick.
“Nick would tell me things and vice versa,” Linda explained. “Just news about life. I still felt .. although broken .. we still were a family. It’s so hard to know he’s just gone. I tried to stay strong for Nick … but I’m melting down now. It’s very sad.”
Linda concluded her message, “I love you Hulkster. You were my man. The only man for me. RIP.”
Hulk died on July 24 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida.
The legendary professional wrestler died from acute myocardial infarction, most commonly known as a heart attack, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly.
Hogan also had a history of leukemia CLL, a type of cancer that affects white blood cells, per the documents.
A small, private ceremony was held to honor Hulk on July 31 before a larger funeral service was held on Tuesday, August 5, at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida.
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Linda and Nick were present at the funeral, while Hulk’s daughter, Brooke, chose not to attend.
A source exclusively told Us Weekly that Linda was visibly emotional during the ceremony, sitting next to Nick and in the same row as Hulk’s wife at the time of his death, Sky Daily.
Brooke, who had been estranged from Hulk for years prior to his death, explained her decision not to attend his funeral.
“My father hated the morbidity of funerals. He didn’t want one,” Brooke wrote via Instagram on Tuesday. “And although I know people grieve in many ways – and I’m so grateful for all celebrations and events organized to honor him, as his daughter, I had to make my own decision to honor him the best and most genuine way I knew how…privately…the way that made me feel the closest to him. The only thing missing today was him in is pop up lawn chair watching the waves… and the sunset 
.”
