Hulk Hogan Didn’t Meet Daughter Brooke’s Twins Before His Death, Her Husband Says: He Had ‘No Interest’

Hulk Hogan never met his daughter Brooke’s newborn twins before his passing on July 24, according to Brooke’s husband, Steven Oleksy.

Oleksy, 39, shared with PEOPLE that Hogan, who had a strained relationship with Brooke, 37, showed no interest in meeting the couple’s twins, Oliver Andrew and Molly Gene, after their birth in January.

A former NHL player, Oleksy said he remained in contact with Hogan and other members of Brooke’s family throughout her estrangement, in hopes of eventually bridging the divide. About six weeks after the twins were born, he says he reached out to the wrestling legend.

“I sent text messages once again to kind of gauge where he was at, but there was no interest,” Oleksy said.

At one point, he recalls Brooke’s brother, Nick, saying he would bring Hogan to meet the twins, but the visit never happened.

Brooke and Oleksy had moved from Michigan to Florida to be closer to Hogan, especially as he aged and underwent several surgeries. Oleksy explained that Brooke was consistently involved in her father’s care.

“She was there for every surgery leading up to the last two years,” he said. “She would fly down on her own dime, take care of her dad, and it just made a lot of sense.” He added that Brooke “took notes from every doctor” and understood her father’s health better than anyone else.

Despite her efforts, the relationship eventually fell apart. Still, Oleksy says the family has found a sense of belonging in Florida. “We’ve built a beautiful life here together,” he told PEOPLE.

On July 29, five days after Hogan died from a heart attack in Clearwater, Florida, Brooke shared a heartfelt Instagram post addressing her father’s death and their estrangement. She clarified that there wasn’t a single falling-out, but rather “a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know, or understand.”

“My father was confiding in me about issues weighing on his heart, both personal and business,” Brooke wrote. “I offered to be a life raft in whatever capacity he needed. I told him he had my support. I begged him to rest, to take care of himself.”

Ultimately, Brooke said she had to distance herself from the relationship over the past two years “to protect my heart.”

Throughout this time, Oleksy acted as a liaison between Brooke and her family.

“I remained in contact with members of her family to try to keep that door open and understand if I should protect my wife or try to mend the relationship,” he explained to PEOPLE.

In her Instagram post, Brooke said she read the messages exchanged between her husband and Hogan after his death: “some answered, some ignored… but all of them broke my heart.”

“I know in my heart I did everything I could,” she wrote. “He knew I would run through a burning building for him. And in many ways, along the path of life, I did. He knows how deeply, how hard, and how purely I loved him. I am at peace knowing this.”