Since the whole Weiner scandal blew up it’s cost one very powerful man the position that made him powerful in the first place and it’s once again reopened the debate over a question that’s fascinated us since King Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and then probably turned around and put his other sword into the nearest woman he could find. That question? Why do powerful men let their sex drives get the best of them, sometimes to the point where, like Anthony Weiner, it puts their lives as they know them at risk? Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, Jesse James, John Edwards, Newt Gingrich, Elliot Spitzer. What makes a guy like a politician, an actor, an athlete or even royalty to think he can get away with it? 

The past few weeks have seen all kinds of self-appointed experts on human behavior and the male sex drive come out of the woodwork to offer their two cents on the supposed science behind why men cheat, especially powerful men. They say it’s a matter of testosterone, that the extra chemical jolt that drives the type-A guy to want to succeed at all costs also heightens his sexual appetite and blinds him to the possible consequences. They say it’s societal, that because the man on top (so to speak) has been told so often that he’s right, he starts to believe that he can do no wrong. Or at the very least that he can’t get caught if he does.

But here’s the cold hard truth: none of these possible explanations mean a thing to Weiner’s gorgeous, accomplished wife, Huma Abedin. That’s because infidelity is never something you can explain away logically. While Huma is probably doing the kind of personal soul-searching that inevitably happens after something like this, she may very well not care one bit why her husband did what he did, only that he did it. True, if anyone knows the kind of man Huma Abedin chose to marry, it’s Huma Abedin herself. But all those excuses and explanations that she’s hearing, or seeing, or reading about what might have driven her husband to put everything in their lives on the line in the name of a cheap thrill — all those people offering their wisdom right about now — and all she may have understood about her powerful man’s uncommon “urges” don’t help soothe the pain and sense of betrayal. There’s no solace in the science, so to speak. 

This is something I understand all too well and I feel for what Huma Abedin must be going through, the same way I felt an odd kinship with Maria Shriver, Elin Nordegren, Sandra Bullock, and Elizabeth Edwards just to name a few. It’s not something I wanted to feel, like being the part of a really sad sisterhood, but when you’ve been on the receiving end of that kind of deceit from someone you promised your life to and created a family with, you gravitate toward anyone who can truly identify with you. Obviously, millions know what its like to see their marriages collapse either partially or entirely because of infidelity, but there’s no denying that celebrity takes the whole nasty business to a different level altogether. It’s a surreal experience to have the entire country examining your life to begin with, but to watch the general public suddenly fixing your failed marriage onto a slide and putting it under a microscope, and then passing judgment, can shake even the strongest to their core.

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone thinks they know what went wrong. People take sides. 

When a powerful man cheats, or otherwise lets his sexual urges put him in a position where he’s ruined his own life and the lives of his wife and family, everyone asks questions. As with Anthony Weiner, they ask why it happened.

But if you’ve been there, if you’ve been cheated on at all, you know the answer: there is no answer. And it wouldn’t matter anyway if there was.

Linda Hogan is the former wife of superstar wrestler Hulk Hogan, a reality television star and the author of “Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes” available Tuesday, June 28th from Harper Collins.

Follow Linda on Twitter @LindaHogan 

NBC’s Today Show- 8:00am

Book Signing:
BOOKENDS, 7:00pm EST
211 E. Ridgewood AVE
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
201-445-0726
http://www.book-ends.com/

Wednesday, June 29^th, 2011- NEW YORK

Book Signing:
BARNES & NOBLE 7:00 PM EST
2245 Richmond Avenue
Staten Island, New York 10314
718-982-6983
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2021

Thursday, July 7, 2011- LOS ANGELES

Book Signing:
BOOK SOUP 7:00 PM PST
8818 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310-659-3110
http://www.booksoup.com/ 

Tuesday, July 12^th -LOS ANGELES

Book Signing:
BARNES & NOBLE
7881 Edinger Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
714-897-8781
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2743 

STAY TUNED… MORE TO COME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shelby Meizlik, 212.207.7466
shelby.meizlik@harpercollins.com

WRESTLING THE HULK

My Life Against the Ropes

By Linda Hogan

LINDA HOGAN:WRESTLING THE HULK

Linda Hogan helped create a billion dollar empire during her 20+ year marriage to the most famous wrestler in the world, Hulk Hogan. But behind the scenes of their very public life, including their hit reality show Hogan Knows Best, was a very different personal story—filled with secrets, deception, cheating and even worse than she could have imagined.  Now, for the very first time, one of the entertainment industry’s most famous ex-wives speaks from the heart about what the ‘real’ reality of life before, during and after the Hulk years was like for her and her two famous children, Brooke and Nick.

In WRESTLING THE HULK: My Life Against the Ropes (William Morrow; on-sale June 28, 2011; hardcover, $25.99), Linda tears the curtain down and shows readers that there is more to her life than meets the eye—exposing the truths behind her successes, her struggles and how she ultimately achieved happiness in the wake of pain.

Meeting Hulk Hogan.  Just days after seeing him on the big screen opposite Stallone in Rocky III, Linda meets her match at a club in her California hometown. The story of their first encounter and how he bared it all without warning sets the stage for what’s to come. As Hulk’s career takes off, Linda sits ringside and stayed by his side over the next two decades. Together, they built a life, a family and an empire. As Hulk’s popularity skyrocketed, Linda’s loyalty never wavered. She juggled Hulk’s brand, managed their finances and was a dedicated mother and wife.

Two decades after they wed, Linda found herself pinned in a corner when she learned of her husband’s affair with a younger woman.  As she struggled with this crushing realization, she found herself thrust even further into the public eye when her son was involved in a devastating car accident. Linda’s personal life soon became the target of an ambush of harsh criticism and relentless speculation by the media.

In her deeply revealing memoir WRESTLING THE HULK Linda shares for the first time the darker side of her life with Hulk Hogan—infidelity, lies and a family at its breaking point.

After years of being “Mrs. Hulk Hogan,” Linda tells her readers about the struggles and triumphs as well as how she stepped out of her husband’s formidable shadow in a big way.  She did what most men do after a divorce by dating someone far younger than herself.  Linda represents a new breed of women who prove you can live and love again at middle age. She continues to persevere–even under the spotlight and pressure of close media attention–and understands that divorce is not the end. As readers will discover, this is only the beginning for Linda.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Linda Hogan is a California girl that has become a television personality, entrepreneur, animal activist and mother of two. Linda starred on the hit VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best.  During her twenty-four year marriage to Hulk Hogan, they raised two children and built a billion dollar family name. Linda dealt with the media and the effects of stardom for nearly all of her marriage with the Hulk, but she became part of a media frenzy when her son’s horrible car accident sparked a series of hardships that lead to Linda and Hulk’s divorce. Now single, Linda is starting over and enjoying a new and exciting relationship with a younger man, and she is embracing this new chapter in her life.

WRESTLING THE HULK; My Life Against the Ropes

By Linda Hogan

Hardcover, $25.99; ISBN: 9780062030207

E-Book, $20.99; ISBN: 9780062092397

Publication date: June 28, 2011

BUY IT NOW:

When I was 18 years old I read a book that truly changed my life. It’s entitled “Pulling Your Own Strings” by Dr. Wayne Dyer. It became my bedside bible and I refer back to the book even till this day. What resonated with me about it was that it showed you how to stand up for your rights and beliefs without the bullies of the world victimizing you for having the strength to express what is best for you. It also teaches you how to say things in a way that are not offensive to others and allows you to have your final say! In short, it helped me not to be as much of a doormat as I used to be.

All of his books have been extremely helpful, but this one in particular has been the most helpful to me. Some day I hope to meet Dr. Dyer! Here is the books description:

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer reveals how we all can prevent ourselves from being victimised by others and begin to operate from a position of power at the centre of our own lives. Asserting that we alone are responsible for how much we will be controlled by others, Dyer offers his practical plan for developing new attitudes toward the most common sources of victimisation and manipulation, such as family members and authority figures in the workplace.

For example, families can be tremendously coercive and demanding, but they can also be an immensely rewarding part of your life. Dyer shows how to cope with the negative side and contribute to the positive.

Also, in their working life many people stay in unfulfilling jobs because they feel constrained by their present experience or because they fear change. Dyer shows that by being enthusiastic and flexible, you can find the work that makes you happy.

In this modern–day classic, Dyer shows you how to stop being the victim in all aspects of everyday life and to take charge of your destiny.

I wanted to share with you a recent photo of Brooke and I. I am so blessed to have two wonderful children!