Dan Hooker has finally broken his silence on the viral allegations that surfaced online last month.
Outside of the octagon, Hooker isn’t known to be tied into the scandals that some of his UFC peers are, and is instead mostly talked about in a positive light within the MMA community. The New Zealander is regarded by many to be among the select few names in the sport that are considered BMFs, but the allegations threatened to strip him of that title and instead paint him in a new light.
In mid-February, a video surfaced that accused Dan Hooker of having a mistress whom he would pay for her entire lifestyle. According to the clip, posted by a woman known as @keekgrace on Instagram, their agreement continued until she allegedly found intimate messages exchanged between Hooker and another man.
Almost a month later, Hooker has publicly defended his family amid the worrying claims.
“Ok, it’s been a minute,” Hooker said to begin his statement. “I’m back training, but before I go back to my team I feel like I need to address a couple of things. Mostly out of respect for people I care about who have been going through it. My wife has been my rock and will always be my best friend, and the best mother to our awesome girls my kids are my world. I’ll look after my family until the day I die… and every day after that. They mean everything to me.”
His wife and kids have faced unfortunate backlash since the news came to light regarding his alleged affairs. Having now defended his family to the public, Hooker turned his attention to the allegations against himself.
Hoping to clear the air and protect his own name and his family’s honor, the 36-year-old hit back at the woman.
“I don’t think most of this is anyone’s business. And you know what they say — you shouldn’t believe everything you see, and even less of what you hear. The blow-ups on social media caught me off guard. I honestly didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. But since people care, it’s pretty simple.”
“I ended an arrangement with someone. Naturally she wasn’t happy and asked for $100k for an NDA. I said no. What happened next was wild. She was clearly upset and started a campaign of lies to try to embarrass and defame me, and mostly to intentionally upset my family. I’m not making excuses for myself. It is what it is. But it hurts when the people who end up getting dragged into it are the ones who did nothing wrong.”