Where Is Brooke Hogan’s Ex-Boyfriend Yannique Barker Now? Inside His Life Today
Where Is Brooke Hogan’s Ex-Boyfriend Yannique Barker Now? Inside His Life Today
Samantha StutsmanThu, April 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC
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Brooke Hogan and Yannique Barker on April 17, 2009 in Miami Beach, Florida; Yannique Barker in May 2025.Credit: Logan Fazio/Getty; Yannique Barker/Instagram -
Brooke Hogan and Yannique Barker dated in the late 2000s
Hulk Hogan made racist comments about Barker in his leaked sex tape
Barker, a filmmaker based in Miami, and Brooke have rekindled their friendship in recent years
Back in the late 2000s, Brooke Hogan was romantically linked to Miami-based musician Yannique Barker, who performed under the name Stack$.
The two were frequently spotted together between 2007 and 2009 and were also connected through music projects during that period.
Years later, their past relationship was thrust back into the spotlight following the fallout from a 2007 sex tape involving Brooke’s father, Hulk Hogan. Though the footage itself first surfaced publicly in 2012, additional transcripts of the encounter, which were released in 2015, included racist remarks in which Hulk referenced Barker, used repeated racial slurs and expressed anger over his daughter dating a Black man. The controversy has since been revisited in the Netflix docuseries Hulk Hogan: Real American, which was released in April 2026.
While Brooke and Barker initially remained on good terms after their split, she later revealed just how much that controversy affected their connection. In an April 2026 interview with Us Weekly, she said the situation ultimately “tore us apart.”
Barker has largely stayed out of the spotlight in the years since. He is still based in Miami, where he works in film production and is raising his son.
So, where is Yannique Barker now? Here’s everything to know about his life today — and where his relationship with Brooke Hogan stands.
He dated Brooke Hogan
Brooke Hogan and Yannique Barker on April 17, 2009 in Miami Beach, Florida.Credit: Logan Fazio/Getty
Barker was romantically linked to Brooke in the late 2000s. The two were spotted together frequently between 2007 and 2009, though the exact timeline of their relationship remains unclear.
Their connection extended beyond their personal lives. Bonding over a shared passion for music, Barker collaborated with Brooke on her 2009 album The Redemption, helping with production and appearing alongside her in the song and music video for “Falling.”
Hulk Hogan made racist comments about Barker in his sex tape
Brooke Hogan, Yannique Barker and Hulk Hogan on March 2, 2007 in Miami, Florida.Credit: Julia Beverly/Getty
Years after Barker and Brooke ended their relationship, their romance resurfaced in headlines during the controversy surrounding a sex tape involving her father, Hulk, and Heather Clem.
Footage from the encounter was first published by Gawker in 2012. Then, in 2015, transcripts of his racist remarks about Barker were published RadarOnline and the National Enquirer. In the transcripts, Hogan used repeated racial slurs and said he was “racist, to a point.” (Hulk later admitted to making the comments.)
Following the release of the transcript, WWE cut ties with Hogan. He later issued a public apology in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, "Eight years ago, I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it, and I apologize for having done it."
“This is not who I am. I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise,” he continued. “I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
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In March 2016, Hulk won a $140 million judgment against Gawker Media over the unauthorized publication of his sex tape. Later that year, he filed a second lawsuit alleging that the company was responsible for leaking the sealed transcripts, though Gawker denied any involvement. Ultimately, Hulk settled all litigation against Gawker Media for $31 million in November 2016, per ABC News.
More recently, Brooke reflected on the scandal while speaking to Us Weekly.
“That was so rough. My dad got so much, like, ‘Oh my gosh, poor Hulk. He’s going through this. He’s fighting the sex tape thing.’ I’m like, ‘What about us?’ We were the subject of it," she said, referring to herself and Barker.
“It was the most embarrassing thing in the world. It was terrible," Brooke continued. "Me and Yannique really went through it when that sex tape came out, and it tore us apart."
He’s the CEO of SoBe Films
Yannique Barker in January 2024.Credit: Yannique Barker/Instagram
Since splitting with Brooke, Barker has remained in the Miami area and continued working in media.
Barker studied film, cinema and video production at the University of Southern California for two years before earning a bachelor's degree in communication and media studies from the University of Miami in 2011, per LinkedIn.
He is now the CEO of SoBe Films and the president of his dad's company, SoBe Entertainment, the record label that Brooke was once signed to.
He's a dad
Yannique Barker and his son in May 2025.Credit: Yannique Barker/Instagram
Barker has also entered a new era: fatherhood. He welcomed a son, Theo James, on Dec. 9, 2021, with his longtime partner and bodybuilder, Lau.
"Definitely the best chapter in my life," Barker wrote of fatherhood on Instagram in March 2022.
Where is Yannique Barker now?
Yannique Barker and Lau in May 2025.Credit: Yannique Barker/Instagram
Barker has continued to pursue music over the years. He reconnected with Brooke in 2025, according to TMZ, after she re-signed with SoBe Entertainment, and the two began collaborating on new material.
"It's really cool because Yannique now has a son, and me and my husband, Steve [Oleksy], have our babies,” Brooke told Us Weekly. “Our babies met, and my husband and Yannique are friends. All the parts of my heart are coming back together. Not in the way I had planned, but in a very special way.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
