The ENQUIRER speaks to the estranged wife of grappler BRUTUS BEEFCAKE who makes shocking new gay allegations between the tawny titan and longtime pal HULK HOGAN!
In early December, the 58- year-old wrestling legend filed court papers accusing ex-wife Linda Bollea of defamation after she leveled charges that the grappler physically abused her – and was cheating on her with another male wrestler!
Hogan (aka Terry Bollea) says that Linda, 52, lied about him in interviews and in her new book “Wrestling the Hulk – My Life Against the Ropes.”
But now Barbara Leslie – the estranged wife of popular pro wrestler Ed “Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake” Leslie – tells The ENQUIRER that her husband’s “bromance” with The Hulkster always struck her as “extraordinarily suspicious.”
“I’ve watched my husband and Hulk interact for the past 20 years, and there have been many times when I felt they were much too close for comfort,” Barbara declared in an exclusive interview.
“I have absolutely no knowledge of a homosexual relationship going on between my husband and Hulk, nor has Linda ever shared anything with me that would indicate she has knowledge of that. But I’ve been acquainted with her for a long time and have never known her to say anything that serious unless she could back it up.
“She must know something.”
Barbara, 47, says she separated from “Beefcake,” 54, nearly three months ago after 18 years of marriage when she suspected him of cheating. They have a 15-year-old girl, who’s the goddaughter of Hulk Hogan.
Astonishingly, she says that Hulk and her husband “share a bond tighter than most marriages – so maybe they should just run off and get married!
“My husband has not made contact with his daughter in more than three months, yet he speaks with Hulk several times a day and has for many years. My daughter and I have spent most of our lives taking a backseat to Hulk Hogan.”
Barbara recalled that Hulk went through back surgery late last year and her husband dropped everything to be by his pal’s side in the hospital.
“I remember an instance when Hulk got up from his bed to use the bathroom. My husband jumped to his feet and ran in ahead of him to put down the toilet seat. I thought how odd that was for one man to do that for another. The boundaries of the intimate bromance they share are definitely blurred, and I just find it all extraordinarily suspicious.”
“Beefcake” vehemently denies Linda’s gay allegations, slamming them to the mat as “completely fabricated and ridiculous.”
He says he and Hogan have been friends for more than 40 years and denounces Linda’s homosexual claims as an attempt to use her ex’s name “to make more money.” He said he also plans to file a defamation lawsuit against Linda.
Meantime, father-of-two Hogan – who celebrated his first anniversary with new wife Jennifer McDaniel on Dec. 14 – scoffs at Linda’s charges, blasting them as “ridiculous” and “insane.”
“If any of that was true, I would admit it,” said Hulk. “I’ve moved on with my life. I know what it’s like to be happy again.”
