Heather Clem is the ex-wife of Love Sponge, the American radio personality. She was born on July 1, 1974, and is currently 49 years old. She became famous as a result of her marriage to Bubba the Love Sponge but on her own, she is known as a model, fitness instructor, and for appearing in a sex tape with Hulk Hogan.
Heather got married to her former husband, whose real name is Todd Alan Clem, in 2007 and after only 5 years the marriage came to an end. She has since gotten over the marriage and is living a private life, but her name is still linked to her former husband. Away from Bubba, here is all there is to know about Heather.
Summary of Heather Clem’s Bio
- Full name: Heather Dawn Cole
- Nickname: Heather Clem
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: July 1, 1974
- Heather Clem’s Age: 49 years old
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Heather Clem’s Husband: Bubba the Love Sponge (ex)
- Heather Clem’s Children: Julia Champ
- Heather Clem’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 8 inches
- Heather Clem’s Height in Centimetres: 172 cm
- Heather Clem’s Weight: 60 kilograms
- Body measurements in inches: 36-30-34
- Body measurements in centimeters: 91-76-86 (CM)
- Heather Clem’s Net worth: $500,000
- Famous for: Being the former wife of Bubba the Love Sponge
- Heather Clem’s Instagram: @heatherdcome
- Twitter: @heatherdcole
Bubba the Love Sponge’s Ex-wife Was Born Heather Dawn Cole
Although she is now famous as Heather Clem, Bubba’s ex-wife was actually born Heather Dawn Cole. It is on record that she was born on July 1, 1974, which means that she is now 49 years old. Her place of birth is West Virginia, United States, which was also where she was raised.
Of American nationality and white ethnic extraction, details have not been provided on Heather’s early life, parents, siblings, and other family members. However, it is claimed that she got her early and high school education in her hometown. From there, she Cole went to the University of Arizona where she obtained a degree.
After she was done with her education, Heather got a start as a model and posed for various magazines, including Playboy. She eventually gained more public attention as a fitness trainer.
Heather Clem Became Bubba the Love Sponge’s Wife in 2007
Heather Cole and Bubba the Love Sponge were said to have started dating sometime in 2006, but there was never a revelation on how they met. They dated for a brief period before Bubba engaged Heather with a ring that he claimed cost over $70,000 but was later valued at $50,000.
Next, the pair got married in an event that was described as unusually normal for someone like Bubba whose life was all about having adult stars and strippers on the radio. The ceremony happened in 2007 at the Frist Baptist Church in St Petersburg with more than 200 guests in attendance. Among those present were the legendary wrestler, Terry Boella who is better known as Hulk Hogan, and Howard Stern. Hogan was the best man of the day.
Following the wedding ceremony which took less than 30 minutes in the church, the couple carried on with a reception at the Gulfport Casino.
The Marriage Was An Open Union
The marriage between Heather and her former husband was an unconventional one because it was an open one. During their time together, Bubba allowed his wife to sleep with other men, including his best man, Hulk Hogan. What was more surprising, was the report that he loved it and would often capture the entire process on video.
According to a report by New York Post, there were three taped encounters between Heather and Hogan which were all captured by Bubba himself. In one of the videos, it was alleged that before the wrestler had a go with his wife, Bubba asked if she wasn’t beautiful. The report claimed that Hogan told his friends that it was a Christmas present. In another video, the NY Post reported that Bubba encouraged his former wife and the wrestler to do their thing as he was going to be in the office.
Heather would also give confirmation to the talk about their open marriage in court. She revealed that she had slept with several men while she was still with her former husband. Heather Clem made it clear that the affair she had were all with the approval of her husband who also gave himself the task of recording the encounters.
Heather Clem and Bubba the Love Sponge Were Only Married For Five Years
For a woman whose parents were married for more than 50 years, Heater Clem’s marriage to Bubba the Love Sponge only lasted for a brief period of five years, from 2007 to 2012.
For the first few years of the marriage, things seemed to be going just fine for the couple, until 2011 when it emerged that Bubba had not only separated from Heather Clem, but he had gone ahead to file for divorce. Court papers showed that Bubba Clem, who was 45 at the time, asked the Pinellas County Civil Court to end his marriage to the then-37-year-old former model on the grounds that the union was irretrievably broken.
The divorce was finalized in February 2012, with many things agreed upon. For one, Heather Clem agreed to revert back to her maiden name, Heather Dawn Cole. On the part of Bubba who at the time claimed he was making as much as $1.55 million annually, he was ordered to pay his former wife $1, 150 each month starting from the next month after the ruling.
Although each of them was asked to pay for their legal fees, Bubba was asked to pay a one-time fee of $20,000 to Heather as part of the settlement. The controversial radio personality also had $2,000 to pay to his former wife. The money was to be made to her IRA account.
With an alimony payment that would continue until she decided to marry a second time or through 2016, other things that Bubba was ordered to leave for Heather Clem were payment for her health insurance, two cars (Chevrolet Suburban and Chevy Silverado), as well as a raft of cooking utensils and equipment
Another thing that Heather walked away with following the demise of their scandalous marriage was her aforementioned expensive ring which Bubba hoped on air for her to lose.
They Had Two Kids From Separate Relationships
The controversial marriage between Heather Clem and Bubba the Love Sponge did not produce any child. However, they both had children from previous relationships.
#tbt with my greatest love @Julia_Champ pic.twitter.com/jXcYmAi2cQ
— Heather D. Cole (@heatherdcole) January 4, 2018
Heather Clem’s daughter is Julia Champ. She was born on July 16, 2001, which means she is now years old. Nothing has ever been mentioned about who Julia’s father may be, but according to her in an Instagram post, her parents are divorced. However, she did not indicate for how long her parents were together before they decided on going their separate ways.
Julia has always remained with her mother and they share a very strong bond. She is a very smart young woman who went to Florida State University from where she graduated in 2019.
On his part, Bubba the Love Sponge has a son name Tyler from a previous relationship with a woman whose name has not been made known. Tyler works as a car racing driver but he has maintained a very private life over the years. The godfather of Tyler is Hulk Hogan.
Hulk Hogan Filed A Lawsuit Against Heather Clem and Bubba the Love Sponge Over A Sextape
Although Hulk Hogan and Bubba the Love Sponge were once best friends, they had a massive fallout in 2012 when the former dragged Bubba and Heather to court over a leaked tape of an affair between Hogan and Heather. The Drama that led to the lawsuit began 6 years prior to 2012 when Hulk Hogan had a bed romp with Heather, the wife of his best friend. As it was revealed, Bubba had no problem with men having a go with his wife at the time, and he had no problem recording it either.
On this particular encounter, Bubba recorded his best friend with his wife while having a romp and then he downloaded it to a tape which he kept in his office drawer. Somehow, the tape made it out and it was later shared by Gawker, leading to a massive legal battle. The true identity of who leaked the tape to the public has remained a mystery to this day.
However, Hulk Hogan felt his friend and Heather Clems invaded his privacy by recording the video without his knowledge and going ahead to share it. October 15, 2012, Hogan dragged the former couple to court, even though Bubba insisted that the recording was done with the full knowledge of the wrestler. To add another twist to the plot, Bubba was heard at the end of the video, telling his wife that if they ever needed to retire, the 2006 recording was going to be their ticket.
Hogan Settled With Bubba And Heather Out Of Court But The Tape Added To Heather’s Popularity
In his defense, Buba, through whose error the tape was leaked to the media, claimed through his lawyer that he was also a victim and was never going to do anything that would hurt Hulk Hogan.
The case did not run for a long time before Hulk settled the case with Heather and Bubba out of court. The settlement came after Heather and Bubba agreed that the wrestler was not aware that the 30-minute romp was being recorded.
Bubba backtracked on his previous insistence that his former friend knew that he was recording the activity and he tendered an apology on radio where he now revealed that after he carried out an investigation, he realized that the actor had no idea that he was being recorded. He also added that he was sure that his former friend had no hand in the release of the video. The case was settled for only $5,000.
At the same time that Hogan filed the suit against the Clems, he also dragged Gawker to court, demanding $100 million in compensation, as it was the online publisher that posted it. The case dragged and the sum of $140 million was awarded to Hogan in March 2016. However, the online publisher appealed the ruling but decided to settle matters out of court by paying the wrestler $31 million towards the end of 2016.
As ugly as the entire affair may seem, it still added to Heather’s fame, as it moved her from being the wife of Bubba to the woman whose sex tape with Hulk Hogan went viral. More so, as the case between Gawker and Hulk dragged, so too did her fame. Nonetheless, there is no indication that she got anything from the $31 million settlement made to Hogan.
Heather Now Works As A Fitness Trainer
With the sex-tape controversy behind her, Heather D Cole now has a career as a fitness trainer and a health instructor. She has a career as Cross-fit Level 1 and Level 2 Instructor and a USA Weightlifting Level 1 and Level 2 Coach. She is also Aerial Yoga certified and from all indications, she is having a great time doing what she currently does.
While it remains unclear if she has gotten married a second time, it is clear that she was in a relationship with a man known as Mike Gagel in 2021. Shel shared a photo together with her man on Instagram where she tagged him as her financier. When a troll came at her, she made it clear to him that her career and love life were still not over.
Prior to sharing the photo on Instagram, she shared a photo of two people kissing in what appeared to be a wedding ceremony. It is not clear if she was the one in the photo, but she added the caption #BestDayEver. Friends and social media followers joined in congratulating her.
Whatever the case, it still remains unclear if she got married again after her divorce from Bubba, and what her current love life may be.
Where Is Heather Clem Now?
With all that has happened in her past, Heather is still living a very happy and fulfilled life in Tampa, Florida. As part of the many uncertain things about her, it is not known if she lives alone or with her lover and daughter who also indicates on social media that she is in Tampa.
While many others in her shoes would prefer to stay away from social media, Heather Clems is still very much active, although she has reverted her name back to Cole. She has more than two thousand followers on Instagram and over four thousand on Twitter were she is even more active.