Death Regret: Bubba the Love Sponge Regrets Not Making Up With Ex-Pal Hulk Hogan Despite Wrestling Icon Making Sex Tape With His Wife
Bubba the Love Sponge regrets never making up with Hulk Hogan.
July 25 2025, Published 12:56 p.m. ET
Hulk Hogan's best friend-turned-enemy Bubba The Love Sponge shared his sadness after the wrestling legend died Thursday, RadarOnline.com can report.
The radio personality said he regrets the way their friendship crumbled after Hogan slept with his wife.
Bubba was blamed with leaking a sex tape of his wife with Hogan.
Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, and Bubba – real name Todd Clem – were close friends until 2012, when the WWE Hall of Famer went on The Howard Stern Show and revealed he slept with his pal's wife, Heather Clem. Hogan insisted at the time he had his friend's blessing.
But shortly after, a website posted a sex tape of their night of passion, with fingers pointing back at Bubba as the possible leaker.
The No Hold Barred star sued the DJ, and the two began a bitter rivalry. Eventually, Bubba paid Hogan a $5,000 settlement and issued a public apology.
On Thursday, after Hogan died at 71 following cardiac arrest, Bubba issued a statement saying he was heartbroken by the news.
Bubba shared: "As everyone knows, we had our issues, and those issues were mostly my fault. I loved him as a friend while he was with us, and will continue to love his memory as a friend going forward."
He added: "I’m saddened that I will never be able to tell him how sorry I am for the way I handled things that created the rift between us. I miss my friend and hope he rests in peace."
Deathbed Fears
Hogan sued Bubba
While Hogan had been busy trying to convince fans he was healthy, Bubba was apparently closer to the truth when he told his audience last month the Suburban Commando star had been hospitalized with heart failure and was "on his deathbed."
"If you did some sniffing around, you might find him in a hospital near you. And it's not good," he claimed.
Bubba said his information was "pretty damn reliable" and that Hogan's family had been called to his bedside to say their goodbyes.
"Allegedly, Hogan is in the hospital, and I've heard people say he might not make it," he claimed, adding: "He's not doing well. He's not in good shape. I think it's a heart issue."
First Responders
The Hall of Famer died inside his home at 71.
Before his death Hogan had been receiving treatment in Florida for chronic injuries to his neck and back, which had plagued him since his wrestling days.
As RadarOnline.com reported, first responders were dispatched to Hogan's home on Thursday morning following a 911 call.
Clearwater Police told Radar: "Clearwater Fire Department and Clearwater Police Department personnel responded to a medical call at 9:51 a.m. today in the 1000 block of Eldorado Avenue on Clearwater Beach.
"The nature of the call was for a cardiac arrest. A 71-year-old resident, Terry Bollea, also known as Hulk Hogan, was treated by Clearwater Fire & Rescue crews before being taken by Sunstar to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased."
Desperate Save Attempt
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Yellow caution tape and police were seen outside the Florida home.
Harrowing footage captured how medics desperately tried to save the Thunder in Paradise star upon their arrival.
A video taken outside the WWE icon's Clearwater, Florida, home on Thursday, July 24, has gone viral online, showing a group of paramedics transporting the wrestler to an ambulance.
In the video, a large group of first responders was seen crowded around a stretcher carrying Hogan as medics frantically performed chest compressions – to no avail.
