Brooke Hogan says she opted for intimacy over tradition when it came to saying goodbye to her late father, Hulk Hogan.
The former reality TV star, who hasn’t been in contact with her dad for several years, explained in an Instagram post published Tuesday why she decided to skip the WWE icon’s funeral.
Hulk, whose real name is Terry Bollea, died of cardiac arrest last month. He was 71.
A funeral was held for the wrestling legend Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida, which included guests like the “A-Team” alum’s wife, Sky Daily, his ex-wife Linda Hogan, musician Kid Rock and comedian Theo Von, People reports.
But Brooke — who was the star of her father’s reality TV series, “Hogan Knows Best” and its spinoff “Brooke Knows Best” in the 2000s — didn’t attend.
Later that same day, the “About Us” singer explained her absence in a carousel post, which featured photos of herself, her husband Steven Oleksy, and the couple’s twins Oliver and Molly — whom they welcomed in January — spending some family time on the beach.
“My father hated the morbidity of funerals,” Brooke began. “He didn’t want one.”
She went on to say that although she’s “grateful for all celebrations and events organized to honor him,” she reminded her fans that “people grieve in many ways.”
“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,” Brooke wrote.
She then revealed why her family decided to go to the beach rather than attend his funeral.
“Daddy, we honored you in the simplest way that agreed with my soul,” she wrote. “We took our babies to the beach, and put them in the same salty waters you loved. Molly loved the water. I think she’ll be a ‘little fish’ as you called me.”
She continued, “We love you and honor the things that made you so special. Every grain of sand and every wave reminded me of being your beach baby, and brought us closer to you.”
“The only thing missing today was [you] in is pop up lawn chair watching the waves... and the sunset 💔,” she added.
Hulk’s family life has been strained for years due to a string of controversial incidents, which also shifted the way the public viewed the WWE Hall of Famer.
In 2007, his first wife, Linda filed for divorce amid accusations that the wrestler had cheated with one of Brooke’s friends. In 2012, the website Gawker posted a secretly recorded sex tape of Hulk having an affair with a close friend’s wife. This prompted Hulk to sue Gawker, and during the litigation process, a recording was discovered of Hulk going on a racist rant about his daughter dating a Black man.
Despite the hardships, Brooke did seem heartbroken by her father’s death.
“When he left this earth, it felt like part of my spirit left with him,” she wrote on Instagram after he passed. “I felt it before the news even reached us.”