With both of her parents going off the deep end since their messy divorce, and her brother in jail for his part in permanently disabling his best friend, 20-year-old Brooke Hogan seems like the only halfway sane person in that family. Which is kind of scary, if you think about it. Brooke confessed that the idea of her mom dating a guy who is younger than her has her “freaked out.” In fact, Linda Hogan met her new boy toy because he is a school mate of Brooke and Nick. Ewwww.

Not everyone approves of Hollywood cougars—least of all their cubs.

Brooke Hogan’s reaction to her 48-year-old mom, Linda, dating someone 29 years her junior? “I’m totally freaked out,” she told E! satellite radio personality Michael Yo during a conversation the two had off air.

“I personally don’t like it at all or condone it, but she’s my mom, so I have to show her support.”

The Hulkster’s daughter also confirmed that mom’s man-child, Charley Hill, 19, was a classmate of hers and her jailed brother, Nick.

“I went to school with him. He was a grade under me…Me and Nick know him well. Me and Nick are two years apart, and he was right between us (in school).”

[From E! Online]

I’m with Brooke on this one. When I was about 22, my mom, who was 43 at the time, started dating a 20 year old guy, and let me tell you, it was weird. She bossed him around like she was his mother and he seemed to like it. It gave me the willies just to hang out with them. Thankfully, my mom got it out of her system. If the guy had resembled my brother- the way this kid resembles Nick Hogan- it would have been even weirder. Add to that the fact that her dad is dating a younger woman who looks a lot like Brooke herself, and this family is just plain creepy.

Brooke Hogan and “Charlie” are shown on 5/31/08 on the dance floor at the Palms Place opening, thanks to Splash.

The Hogan family really didn’t make the most of their time on reality televsision. Instead of focusing on Brooke’s mind-numbingly boring music career, they instead should have featured the weird love triangle between Brooke, her father and her best friend. Instead of having some petty domestic dispute between Linda and Hulk, they should have had shown his face when he learnt about their divorce from a newspaper calling for comment.

Consistent with her classy behavior in the past, Linda Hogan has been seen out partying with a man young enough to be her incarcerated son.

In an effort to make the Hogan family look even worse, Linda Hogan took her 19-year-old Nick-a-like boytoy to the opening of Palms Place last night!

Our spy says Linda’s prey, Charlie, said the two are just friends — because friends are typically all over each other at the Palms.

TMZ

Does anyone ever fall for the ‘just friends’ line? While people of different genders and ages can be friends, I find it hard to believe that Linda could have made fast friends with a 19-year-old bleached blonde perma-tanned young lad she just met in a club. And then put her hands ‘all over’ him. Unless they’re comparing tanning salons and discussing the best way to cover up dark roots.

The thing that horrifies me the most about the whole thing is that the young man looks quite a bit like Linda’s son Nick, rather like Hulk Hogan’s girlfriend looked like his daughter. I know it’s probably just coincidence, but it creeps me out all the same.

Picture Note by Celebitchy: Linda Hogan and her boytoy, identified as “Charlie,” are shown on 5/31/08 on the dancefloor at the Palms Place opening. That guy is a lot older than 19. He looks like he’s pushing 30 to me at least. Thanks to Splash News for these photos.

When I was 14 I invented a secret boyfriend. We had an awesome time together and did wildly inappropriate things. I’m pretty sure everyone knew I was lying. But I’ll defend that decision to this day. It saved my 14-year-old dignity (or so I thought), and I didn’t actually do any of those wild things. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what’s going on with Brooke Hogan, who apparently has had a secret boyfriend for several years - and they’re now engaged. Brooke, it’s only cute to make up stuff when you’re young and dumb. Just being dumb isn’t’ enough.

The gentleman in question – who appears to have a thing for tranny-looking girls – got down on one knee and asked Brooke Hogan to spend the rest of her life with him. Apparently with all the romance going on in the Hogans’ lives these days, 21-year-old Jonathan Prater thought it was the perfect time to plan a once-in-a-lifetime (theoretically) occasion.

Brooke Hogan is secretly engaged to a choreographer - but they’re trying to keep their happy news under wraps until the dark cloud over the Hogan family dissipates. The Enquirer has learned exclusively that Jonathan Prater, 21, recently dropped to one knee and asked 20-year-old Brooke to marry him - and the “Brooke Hogan Knows Best” stunner said “Yes!”

The couple has been dating off and on for the past few years, but this time the romance has gotten hotter than ever. Even so, Brooke has decided to keep their engagement quiet until brother Nick’s recent felony reckless driving conviction and Hogan divorce controversies are put to rest, sources say.

[an "insider" tells the Enquirer] “With everything going on right now the Hogans feel like it’s not an appropriate time to be celebrating.” The family’s VH1 reality show, “Hogan Knows Bes,” now has been spun off into “Brooke Hogan Knows Best,” and fans can expect to see Brooke sporting a diamond engagement ring at some point.

[From the National Enquirer, June 2, 2008 print ed.]

I have to say, I think this Jonathan Prater character could have timed the engagement a little better. Brooke’s parents are divorcing, her dad cheated on her mom with her good friend, her little brother’s in jail, and she’s reportedly suffering a breakdown. Is now the right time? Really? My only guess as to what the guy was thinking was something along the lines of, “She’s really bummed out. Maybe planning a wedding will distract her.” Or something like that.

The Enquirer also mentions that Hulk threw Nick a big “Going off to jail” party a few days before his sentencing. Look what you’re marrying into Jonathan Prater! I don’t know who the hell you are, but I know you can do better than this.

Stay classy Hogans.

Here’s Brooke at the Broker Boxing Federation event to help raise money for the Alonzo Mourning Charities foundation on April 10th. Images thanks to WENN.

Nick Hogan really doesn’t like jail. I mean really. It’s no fun at all – in fact it’s downright boring. Though it appears he hasn’t been made anyone’s bitch (yet), Nick still thinks the place sucks and wishes he’d gone to trial instead of copping a plea. The inmates are allowed to talk on the phone as long as they want at Pinellas County Jail – during their free time of course. Nick spends an average of two hours a day on the phone, generally complaining and whimpering to his mom.

The contents of some of Nick’s conversations have been released, and now we can hear a few of the specifics about just how tough jail really is.

The phone calls began just hours after Nick Bollea was hauled away from the courtroom.

Nick Bollea: “Had I known this, I would have rather gone to trial or I would rather, you know, appeal the case or something. I can’t deal with this for eight months. It’s (Bollea’s cell) like the size of my bathroom.”
Linda Bollea: “Oh!”
Nick: “No windows or nothing. Just one little top bed thing.”
Linda: “Oh my God!”

[From ABC Action News]

I know! My God indeed! Now I’m guessing Nick Hogan’s bathroom is bigger than most of our bedrooms. So I am not necessarily impressed by how small his cell is. And it’s not like he’s got a lot of stuff to keep in there. What does it matter how small it is? But I just love the shock and “Oh my God!” I’m guessing that was followed with, “What thread count are the sheets? 200 you say? My God!”

Bollea is being kept in a single cell at the Pinellas County Jail because he is one of only two minors serving time in the adult facility. On the phone, he cries often and is comforted by his mother Linda.

Nick: “All you do is sit there and think, and there’s nothing to think about.”
Linda: “We’ll get through it.”
Nick: “Yeah.”
Linda: “Prove to everyone you’ve learned your lesson and be more careful.”

Bollea asks for anything to pass the time, including books and magazines. He even talks about breaking the world record for sleeping and working out in his cell. On Wednesday his famous father Terry (a.k.a. Hulk Hogan) congratulated him on his time served so far.

[From ABC Action News]

Considering how Nick’s family has often reacted to the car crash (which left passenger John Graziano in a vegetative state, probably for life), it’s actually surprising to hear Linda Hogan acknowledge that Nick did do something wrong, and has a lesson to learn. Linda has encouraged Nick’s racing hobby for years, including drag racing – which was what he was doing when he crashed his car.

However she did support Graziano family for a while, renting a condo for his mother to stay in while she kept watch over her son . So it seems like she has some teeny, tiny bit of common sense lacking in father Hulk Hogan, who said the following:

~”I’m very proud of you brother. Very, very proud of you. You’ve been thrown in a tough spot and you’ve handled it better than I could have probably handled it. Any man I know. You’ve really been somebody to look up to.”

[From ABC Action News]

Yes, ruining a young man’s life, never taking responsibility or saying sorry directly to his family until you’re forced to in a court of law – you are someone to look up to, Nick Hogan. You’ve ruined many lives. Congrats. I hope the next seven months are filled with deep thoughts… though you’ve already admitted you don’t have many of those.

Nick Hogan is pictured at his sentencing hearing on May 13th. Images thanks to Splash.

As much as I enjoy rampantly spreading Hogan-family hate, for once I actually feel empathy for them. Or at least one of them. Brooke Hogan is supposedly suffering from an emotional breakdown as the result of younger brother Nick’s incarceration and father Hulk Hogan’s affair with one of Brooke’s former friends.

Hulk Hogan’s 17-year-old son Nick Hogan was recently sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading no contest to charges of reckless driving in an accident that left his close friend critically injured. But friends of the “Hogan Knows Best” family are more concerned about his 20-year-old sister, Brooke Hogan, according to our source.

“She’s suffering the worst of all; she just can’t keep it together and has been hit the hardest,” said the source, adding that Brooke is “extremely sensitive” and her emotions are spiraling out of control. Brooke’s relationship with her father was severely strained after his reported infidelity with her former friend made news in February.

While our source said that Nick’s arrest has “brought them a little closer to reconciliation,” it’s not the case for Hulk and his wife, Linda. The estranged couple appeared together at Nick’s hearing on May 9, where Linda even flashed her wedding ring, apparently for the first time since news of the reported affair broke.

“Basically they were trying to put their best foot forward and fake a public image of unity and support for their son,” our insider said. “He [Hulk] is a very astute businessman and very good at playing the media — he even admitted in court that their reality show was scripted and not so real after all.”

[From Fox News’ Pop Tarts]

I always found Brooke to be pretty annoying, and lots of blogs have a love affair with mocking her. But of everyone in her family, she’s the one who really hasn’t done anything. Her younger brother committed a crime that left another man in a coma and in a quasi-vegetative state likely for the rest of his life. Her father cheated on her mother with Brooke’s friend. Linda Hogan has been videotaped encouraging Nick to drag race… and we all know what that led to.

Brooke certainly hasn’t done anything bad. She’s an easy target, but it seems like her family members are irresponsible and she’s left emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed from it. Hopefully her parents are still able to pay enough attention to her, despite their divorce, to get her some help.

Here’s Brooke and Hulk Hogan at the courthouse on the day of Nick’s sentencing, May 13th. Images thanks to Splash.

Hulk Hogan’s idiot son Nick may finally get his comeuppance. You’ll remember that then-17-year-old son Nick wrecked his car while drag racing, critically injuring his passenger, 22 year old John Graziano. Nick was eventually charged with felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. Graziano is expected to be a near-vegetable for the rest of his life, and will need constant care.

Following the crash, Hogan blogged about racing, his supposed corporate endorsement from Polaroid (which didn’t turn out to be true), and as an afterthought, mentioned “keep john graziano in your prayers” – after he requested that everyone wish himself luck in his races. The guy is a grade A douche bag.

Nick is expected to plead guilty tomorrow, and could receive up to five years in prison. His sentence is entirely determined by the judge.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Nick Hogan will cop to a criminal charge in court tomorrow.

We’re told Hogan will not fight the charge of felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. He will plead either guilty or no contest. Sources say no deal has been struck with prosecutors. Hogan will enter an “open plea,” meaning the judge will have complete leeway in his sentencing and the victim and his family will have an opportunity to testify at a sentencing hearing on how the crime has affected their lives. The maximum penalty is five years in prison.

On August 26, 2007, Nick was driving a suped-up Toyota with passenger John Graziano when he crashed, severely injuring John.

We’re told Hulk and the rest of Nick’s family will be in Pinellas County court (Florida) tomorrow.

[From TMZ]

I know that there’s almost no chance in hell that a rich celebrity’s kid will do much time – but one can always hope. Nick is being tried as an adult. He has a long history of EXTREME speeding tickets, but that’s not technically a prior record, even in a speeding-related crime. I’ll bet he gets sentenced to a few months, max, and will probably only serve a couple of days in jail, best case scenario. Too bad, since his victim will be serving the rest of his life.

Here’s Nick and his family leaving a medical center in Beverly Hills on January 16th. Images thanks to WENN.

Hulk Hogan was hosting the NBC competition American Gladiators when he attempted to entertain the crowd in a break between filming. He put on one of his daughter Brooke’s music videos and was met with boos and calls from the audience to shut it off.

“American Gladiators” host Hulk Hogan bored his studio audience… when he showed them his daughter’s latest music video.

“Boo! Make it stop - please!”

That was the general sentiment of rowdy audience members at the April 13 taping of the NBC show when Brooke’s video played on the jumbo screen during a break.

“We though we’d be entertained by some of the sexy gladiators during breaks in filming, but instead, we got a snooze fest,” grumbled an audience member.

“This horrible music started playing, and then the video of this ‘wannabe Britney’ appeared on the jumbo screen. Everyone in the place looked confused….

“When we realized Hulk was just trying to promote Brooke’s new record, people started shouting, ‘Stop the music, Hulk. Please turn it off!’” said a source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, May 12, 2008]

The news came out last week that Brooke Hogan was denied admission to three universities in Florida over concerns that her “Hogan Knows Best” reality show would be filming on campus. At least she has her music career to fall back if she has trouble getting an education.

Here’s one of Brooke Hogan’s music videos, “Everything To Me.” It may not be the one that angered the American Gladiator crowd, but it’s pretty painful:

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Brooke Hogan and Ashley Menendez at the BBF (Broker Boxing Federation) Miami at Mansion nightclub in Miami Beach on April 10th. Images thanks to WENN.

The family of permanently disabled John Graziano, the now comatose passenger in Nick Bollea’s car accident last year, has finally filed suit against Nick and his parents. The civil suit names Nick, Linda and Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) as co-defendants, as well as the man who was street racing against Nick in the minutes leading up to the wreck that left Graziano, 22, in a permanent vegetative state.

Clearwater, Florida - The attorney for John Graziano’s family announced details of a 6-count complaint civil lawsuit filed in Pinellas County on Monday.

The lawsuit cites three counts of negligence against Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan and Nick’s father), one against Linda Bollea (Nick’s mother), one against Nick Bollea, and a final count against Daniel Jacobs, the driver of the Dodge Viper that Nick was racing.

The Graziano family is claiming in the lawsuit that Terry and Linda Bollea should have known that their son was a reckless driver, and were also aware that their son was drinking on the day of the crash.

Hogan’s son, Nick Bollea, was allegedly speeding when Clearwater police say he lost control of his car and crashed last summer. Graziano was a passenger in the car and suffered serious head wounds. Graziano’s family says he will require medical care for the rest of his life.

Bollea faces a felony charge of reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

[From Tampa Bay News 10]

If you recall, Nick and his parents went on the offensive in the weeks after the horrific crash, deflecting blame instead of owning up to their roles in this young man’s injury, stating that if John had been wearing a seat belt he would have been fine, even though the photos of the car after the crash suggest otherwise. It looks like John’s family will finally get their day in court after all. This will be one in a long line of court appearances for Nick, who was arrested in the days after the crash on three charges, including third degree felony reckless driving.

Hulk Hogan and his daughter, Brooke. The woman Hogan allegedly cheated with is Brooke’s best friend, but is not as young as his daughter and is 33
Wow, just when I thought the Hogan family couldn’t sink any lower, reports have surfaced that Hulk Hogan, aka Terry Bollea, began an affair with a 33-year-old woman over a year ago– and the woman is one of his daughter Brooke’s best friends. Christiane Plante, who helped Brooke Hogan with her pop album and was close with the family, admitted to the National Enquirer that she began an affair with the former wrestler a year ago. She claims that Hulk and wife Linda Bollea were already separated by then and were only staying together for the TV cameras.

“My relationship with Terry [Hulk Hogan] began at a time when Terry and Linda privately knew their marriage was ending. She had left him already, although no official papers had been filed. Terry is a good man, good father and a good friend, and he and I grew close at a time when he was going through a very difficult period. It seemed right then, but I know it was wrong. Having felt the guilt and pain build up, I gave a note to Brooke apologizing for my actions. I will never be able to fully forgive myself for this. I have lost an amazing friend.”

[From National Enquirer, print edition, March 10, 2008 as found on The Post Chronicle]

Brooke Hogan blogged about the situation earlier in the week, but the blog has since been taken down.

It should be noted that Linda Bollea did not file for separation from the Hulkster until Nov. 20, 2007. While it is entirely possible that the couple stayed together to salvage their hideous VH1 reality show, it doesn’t change the fact that legally and publicly, Hulk was very much a married man at the time of this relationship.

For once, I actually kind of feel sorry for Brooke. It’s bad enough that her parents are completely dysfunctional human beings and terrible role models through their selfish, narcissistic behavior– but now it seems she can’t even trust her own best friend. This whole thing has to hurt.

Note: I tried to find a photo of this Plante woman, but she’s done a good job of staying under the radar until now. I’m still trying to figure out what motivated her to go to the Enquirer– I have a few gue$$e$, but I’m $till $peculating.

Hulk Hogan sure is coming across as one greedy guy in his divorce proceedings from his wife of 24 years, Linda Bollea (the Hogan family’s real last name is Bollea). It’s been rumored since last spring that the couple were having marital problems, but nothing came of the rumors until August when their 17-year-old son Nick wrecked his car while drag racing, critically injuring his passenger, 22 year old John Graziano. Linda Bollea filed for divorce a few months later. Since then, she and Hulk have been at each other’s throats. The whole family is incredibly offensive – often publicly blaming Graziano for his own injuries since he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt – instead of their own son for drag racing and slamming into a tree .

Yet it appears that Hulk is the biggest douche bag of the bunch. He told Linda that he’s not giving her alimony or child support, and has supposedly hidden the assets from the sale of their $18 million Florida home. He’s completely cut Linda off financially. Since they’re all a bunch of jerks, I normally wouldn’t care. But Linda Bollea did do one decent thing. She was paying for a condo in Clearwater, Florida, for John Graziano’s mother to stay in (Graziano is expected to be bedridden and comatose for the rest of his life) while she takes care of her son. Because Hulk cut Linda off, she can no longer pay for the condo.

Since the accident, Linda Bollea had paid for a condominium for John Graziano’s mother Debra in Clearwater [Florida] but, according to a source close to the Graziano family, the stipend came to an end because of financial wrangling between Hulk and Linda.

“Debra is in the middle of her own divorce from her husband, Ed, and has no money to handle the upkeep on the condo and living expenses,” the source told the Enquirer.

“Hulk cut off Linda, and that cut off the payments to Debra Graziano. While the lease on the condo goes through September, she could end up being homeless while their lawsuit proceeds. Linda has told Debra that she can no longer help her out.”

[From the National Enquirer, print edition, February 18, 2008]

The Grazianos are in the process of suing the Bolleas for an expected $20 - $30 million according to the Enquirer. They noted that John’s immediate care right after the crash cost $5 million. Given that amount, it doesn’t seem like the amount requested is especially punitive – it will obviously cost a lot to care for John for the rest of his life. The Enquirer closes the story by noting that the Grazianos may find themselves in a state of limbo until the Hogans get their divorce worked out. I can’t imagine how long a bitter, litigious divorce could take, but I hope somehow the Grazianos lawyer is able to push forward and get the money the family needs to take care of their son, which is far more important than anything going on with the Hogans.

Header of the Hogan family at the VH1 “Big in ‘06” Awards in December 2006. Here’s Nick Hogan’s car after the crash. Images thanks to PR Photos.