Laila Ali could sense that something was wrong with Hulk Hogan so she reached out to him just in time. Is Laila Ali Hulk Hogan’s savior?
The Hulkster just published a book called ‘My Life Outside the Ring.’ Apparently the book goes into all of the ups and downs he’s had over the years. One of the subjects he addresses is his nasty divorce with his long time wife Linda, and of course, the difficulties surrounding his son Nick’s accident which landed him in jail, and his friend in ICU.
It turns out that life became very dark for him as he dealt with those two issues. His son spent time in jail, and the media coverage was very effective at making it seem like his and Linda’s lack of parental guidance caused Nick to live a reckless lifestyle.
Then came the relationship troubles. After being married to Linda for 23 years they decided to call it quits. As can be expected, there were bitter disagreements over money. Well, it turns out all of this caused him to abuse drugs and alcohol in an attempt to cope.
He admits in his book that one night he had downed a bunch of rum and had taken Xanax—a pretty dangerous combination. Hogan wrote that he was on the verge of killing himself, hand on the trigger of a loaded gun, when the phone rang.
On the other end was Laila Ali, who had been working with him on the TV show American Gladiator. She had apparently called to offer her support after noticing that he seemed distant at work. Little did she know, the call helped prevent Hogan from going through with his suicide attempt. In his book, he wrote, that gesture saved his life.
When asked about the situation, Ali says she had no idea that he was in such a dangerous mental state. She said:
“I do remember working with Hulk on the set of ‘American Gladiators’ and he was going through a hard time, going through a divorce with his wife…I did call him from time to time when we were shooting the show for whatever reason and I did offer him lots of words of inspiration and support.”
Hulk Hogan’s book ‘My Life Outside The Ring’ is on shelves now.
Check out some photos and a video interview of the two stars below.
Photos: www.wenn.com/Nikki Nelson/C.M. Wiggins
October 27th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I am glad that Laila Ali was able to be supportive of Hulk when he needed it. It would have been such a tragedy for Hulk to take his life. He is loved so much by Brooke, Nick and his fans. I have been in the depths of dispair and I know how he felt. I get tears at the thought of how he was suffering. Please hang in there, Hulk!
October 27th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Sorry, I misspelled despair.