Tiger King on Netflix: what happened to Joe Exotic's husbands John Finlay and Travis Maldonado?

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Joe Exotic’s four marriages to five men – two of whom he married at the same ceremony - plays a key role in Netflix documentary Tiger King

Just when you think Tiger King has reached its peak in weirdness, a new episode packed with stranger-than-fiction twists unravels leaving the viewer with their jaw firmly stuck to the floor.

Joe Exotic, the eponymous Tiger King, is so often at the centre of the abnormal drama, though fellow zoo owners Bhagavan Antle and Carole Baskin make sure he doesn't hog all of the limelight.

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The eccentric loose-cannon drives the story with his erratic and reckless behaviour which culminates in his arrest.

Travis Maldonado, Joe Exotic and John Finlay married at a ceremony in 2014 (Netflix)Travis Maldonado, Joe Exotic and John Finlay married at a ceremony in 2014 (Netflix)
Travis Maldonado, Joe Exotic and John Finlay married at a ceremony in 2014 (Netflix) | Other 3rd Party

The zookeeper was subsequently sentenced to 22 years in a federal prison for murder for hire and federal wildlife charges.

A subplot that sprawls the length of the seven episode Netflix docu-series is Joe Exotic's relationship with his five husbands. The Tiger King exchanged vows with Brian Rhyne, J. C. Hartpence, John Finlay, Travis Maldonado and Dillon Passage - here's what has happened to each of them.

What happened to John Finlay and Travis Maldonado?

Joe Exotic married John Finlay and Travis Maldonado at a joint ceremony in 2014.

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John Finlay regularly appears as a talking head in Tiger KingJohn Finlay regularly appears as a talking head in Tiger King
John Finlay regularly appears as a talking head in Tiger King | Other 3rd Party

John Finlay, a former employee of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park regularly appears as a talking head in Tiger King detailing life with Joe Exotic. Finlay eventually left the three-way marriage when he got a fellow worker at the zoo pregnant.

According to podcaster Robert Moor, Finlay has found happiness working as a welder.

Travis Maldonado and Joe Exotic remarried when John Finlay left the marriage, but Travis Maldonado became increasingly unstable in the following months.

In episode 5 of Tiger King it is detailed that Maldonado accidentally took his own life in 2017 when shot himself in the face after claiming that the gun wouldn't fire without a magazine attached, despite the gun's chamber containing an active bullet.

Is Joe Exotic still with Dillon Passage?

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In the series' final episode the relationship between Joe Exotic and his latest husband Dillon Passage.

When the pair met Dillon Passage was sleeping on his cousin's airbed, but he and Exotic married in 2017, before leaving the zoo life behind them in 2017.

They were still together at the time of Joe Exotic's arrest in 2018.

Dillon Passage has confirmed on Instagram that he and Joe Exotic are maintaining their marriage despite Exotic's incarceration.

What about Brian Rhyne and JC Hartpence?

Joe Exotic's first marriage was his longest.

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The former zookeeper married Brian Rhyne in 1986 and lasted until Rhyne's death in 2001.

The pair married at a cowboy-themed gay bar before gay marriage was legal, before opening a pet store and an animal sanctuary.

Rhyne passed away in 2001 due to complications relating to HIV.

Shortly after Rhyne's death, Exotic met second husband JC Hartpence. The pair's relationship was unstable according to Joe Exotic, who claimed that Hartpence once held a gun to his head.

Following the breakdown of their marriage Hartpence was arrested for murder.

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