Hulk Stars Wife Dies Amid Shocking Marriage Secrets

The glamorous wife of 1970s superstar Lou Ferrigno died with hardly a word from the press after her final years were plagued by a battle with , a bitter divorce and allegations of abuse. 

Carla Ferrigno died in February, but despite a lifetime in the spotlight among the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, her death at age 77 went by largely unnoticed by news organizations.

Carla's health woes and rocky marriage were thrown into the public realm amid a flurry of nasty legal action and headlines about her slow demise in the final years of her life.

Until now, Ferrigno – who rose to fame as TV's original Incredible Hulk – has been tight-lipped about the actress, manager and mom-of-three's passing.

He was even spotted at a Comic Con event just a few weeks ago still wearing his wedding ring. 

The couple, who tied the knot in 1980, finalized their divorce before she died, his lawyer confirmed to the Daily Mail – but only after years of messy arguments that spilled into public view after Carla's Alzheimer's diagnosis. However, the case is still listed for a hearing in San Luis Obispo, , next month.

'I was deeply saddened by Carla's passing,' Ferrigno said in a statement to the Daily Mail. 'We shared many meaningful memories together. She will forever be in my memory and prayers.'

Carla had slapped her heartthrob husband with divorce papers in September 2023 after accusing Ferrigno of trapping her in an abusive and controlling marriage as her health spiraled.

She accused her spouse of more than 40 years of secretly cutting off her access to joint finances and keeping her physically isolated in their home to prevent her from divorcing him, court papers stated at the time.

Carla claimed the actor frequently showed off his affair with a mistress – only identified as Lisa – 'with whom he spends most of his time, traveling to his various appearances and flaunting in my face even when he is home.'

'While his infidelity may not be abuse, when I get upset with him about her being around, he physically intimidates me, by getting into my face and using his much larger size – he will remind everyone that he is the Hulk – compared to my slight stature, to scare and control me into submission,' she said in a signed declaration as part of the proceedings.

Carla acknowledged in court papers that she had been diagnosed with dementia, but stressed that she had consistently made it known she wanted a divorce for several years – and that she had the mental capacity to understand that decision.

'Through recent filings and statements through his attorneys, Lou has made it known that I have been diagnosed with dementia, but what he leaves out is that his own frustration with that fact and my aging in a way that prevents me from keeping up with him, has led to him being abusive of me in many ways,' she said in the declaration.

'I do not deny that I am not in the same condition as I was when I was younger but I know what is going on around me, how Lou treats me and that he is trying to ensure that I am treated as completely incompetent so that he can use our estate and leave me to die.

'I know that I want a divorce and that Lou is trying to stop that by isolating me from other family members.'

At the time, Carla's attorneys argued that Ferrigno had hatched a 'Machiavellian scheme' to thwart the split so he could keep hold of their assets, including the $2.9 million mansion they purchased in Arroyo Grande, California, in 2019.

In the filing, Carla had asked for her daughter, Shanna Ferrigno, to manage her affairs instead of the actor.

Prior to the divorce proceedings, Ferrigno had filed a restraining order against their fitness trainer daughter to prevent her from accessing her mom's money, claiming she was trying to take advantage of Carla amid her dementia struggles.

He alleged that Shanna and his sister-in-law, Pam Vog, had driven Carla to a bank to withdraw $500,000 in cash – but they were stopped in their tracks when the bank alerted him to the activity.

The actor argued the pair were trying to turn his beloved wife against him.

'She has been isolated from her husband Lou and has been unduly influenced into villainizing Lou and acting hostile towards Lou,' his court filing stated.

'These emotional and psychological tactics are elder abuse, harmful to Carla, and are probably progressing her already advanced dementia.'

After the family drama spilled into public view and became tabloid fodder, Ferrigno insisted his main priority was his wife.

'Lou's priority remains his wife's welfare,' his attorney, Vatche Zetjian, said in a statement to The Blast following news of the divorce filing. 'All of the restraining orders recently mentioned in the press have been suspended upon mutual agreement of the parties.

'Lou and Carla, through counsel, have agreed to mediate and Lou's hope remains that they reach an amicable resolution. Lou requests privacy for all his family members at this time.'

Since then, Ferrigno has largely stayed quiet about his marital woes – and ultimately his wife's death. 

He was spotted at the Niagara Falls Comic Con in Canada earlier this month, where he wowed fans with his physique and signature Hollywood glow decades after first rising to fame.

Ferrigno's statement about Carla's death only came after the Daily Mail reached out. 

Meanwhile, Carla's children quietly unveiled a foundation in her name to raise awareness for Alzheimer's in the wake of her death.

A biography on the fundraising site reads: 'A woman who embodied strength and glamour, grit and grace. She walked into a room and you felt it – not because she demanded attention, but because she carried herself with confidence, intelligence, and authenticity.

'She was an actress, a fitness author, and a respected celebrity manager. But more than her titles, Carla was real. In an industry full of façades, she cut through the noise. She didn't tolerate fake. She didn't play games. She was sharp, honest, and unapologetically herself.'

For his part, Ferrigno was a bodybuilding rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger before stepping into Hollywood. Their rivalry was the subject of the 1977 documentary, Pumping Iron.

Best known for playing the green-skinned superhero in The Incredible Hulk TV series from 1977 to 1982, Ferrigno went on to make cameo appearances as a security guard in the 2003 film Hulk, starring Eric Bana, and the 2008 The Incredible Hulk movie with Edward Norton. 

Later, Ferrigno won a new legion of fans on the hit sitcom King of Queens where he played a humorous version of himself. 

The actor is still embroiled in a civil lawsuit with his daughter stemming from her allegedly blocking him from his own social media accounts when the legal spat first kicked off.  

Proceedings in that ongoing saga are scheduled to take place in a San Luis Obispo court next month.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Shanna for comment.