Netflix’s new true-crime series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, brings a renewed interest in the unusual life of a man named Joe Exotic. Of course, that’s not his birth name — his actual moniker is Joseph Schreibvogel, which he changed to Joseph Maldonado-Passage before finally settling on the bizarre nickname, per Esquire. Other than his wild name, the Kansas native is best known for his collection of wild cats and the exotic zoo he once owned in Oklahoma. What’s more? Joe — who is openly gay — has garnered attention for being a polygamist.

But wait, that’s not all. It’s also important to mention Joe was sentenced to 22 years in prison for wildlife violations and paying $3,000 in a murder-for-hire plot to kill wildlife activist, Carole Baskin, who openly protested against Joe’s controversial zoo, according to The New York Times. It’s no wonder his life made excellent material for a Netflix series, right?

Circling back to Joe’s personal life, he had a total of five husbands. Intrigued yet? Here is everything we know about Joe Exotic’s multiple partners. 

Joe Exotic's first marriage ended in heartbreak

In the early ’80s, Joe was working at a gay bar in Texas called the Round-up Saloon as a security guard when he met Brian Rhyne, a “slender, sassy 19-year-old,” according to New York Magazine. They quickly moved in together, purchasing a trailer in Arlington, Texas where they would snort “pink-tinged meth and go out to bars.” The pair eventually got married at the Round-up Saloon, even though gay marriage wasn’t legal at the time.

During their marriage, Joe got a job at a pet store called Pet Safari, which he later owned with his brother, Garold. Then in 1997, everything changed when Garold was killed in a highway accident. Garold’s family sued the trucking company that was involved in the collision, and Joe managed to convince his parents to put the settlement money toward a refuge for exotic animals. So Joe purchased a ranch in Wynnewood, Okla. and named it the Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Memorial Park or the G.W. Zoo for short. Joe and Rhyne’s park quickly filled up with exotic animals, with some of the young creatures living in their home.

Tragically, Rhyne died of HIV complications in 2001, per NY Magazine. Rhyne passed while Joe lifted him into a truck, as he was planning to take him home where he could die peacefully. Zoo employees recalled Joe “screaming loud enough to make your ears ring” when he witnessed his husband’s last breath.

Joe Exotic falls for "very young and very rough" men

After Brian Rhyne’s death, something supposedly changed in Joe Exotic and what he looked for in a man, per NY Magazine’s profile. Joe began spending time at a gay bar called Copa, where he was rumored to have brought in a leashed tiger one Saturday night.

It seemed like Joe’s attitude towards relationships mirrored his interest in obtaining wild cats: the more unpredictable the relationship, the more worthy pursuit. Case in point: He gravitated towards “very young and very rough” men who claimed to be heterosexual, according to NY Magazine. 

Joe then married a man in his twenties from Oklahoma named Jeffrey Charles “J.C.” Hartpence, although the ceremony wasn’t legal. Joe’s new paramour was reportedly addicted to drugs and alcohol, and he once held a gun to the zookeeper’s head during a fight, according to Texas Monthly. Hartpence is now serving life in prison for murder, The Wichita Eagle reported.

After his relationship with Hartpence, Joe met a young man fresh out of high school named John Finlay who was “a cute little redneck boy who hid his teeth when he smiled,” per NY Magazine. Joe allegedly asked Finlay to take steroids, and he also paid for him to get a tattoo on his pelvis which read: “PRIVATELY OWNED BY JOE EXOTIC.” The relationship ultimately turned volatile, and during a fight, Finlay allegedly threw Joe into a wall with such force that he required hospitalization, per NY Magazine.

Joe Exotic dabbled in polygamy

While still dating John Finlay, Joe Exotic met a young man named Paul who, according to NY Magazine, asked to withhold his last name. Paul was quiet and shy and, like John Finlay and J.C. Hartpence, didn’t identify as gay. Joe reportedly slept between the two men in their shared bed.

When Paul left, Joe met another young man named Travis Maldonado, who was from California. Maldonado wound up working at Joe’s zoo, thinking it would give him a “chance to clean up” his life, per The Daily Beast.

Joe later married Maldonado and Finlay in an unofficial three-way ceremony. However, the polygamous marriage soon disintegrated, as Finlay believed Joe was becoming increasingly controlling. Then in August 2014, Finlay attacked Joe in the parking lot behind the zoo, and he was charged with assault and battery, per Texas Monthly. Finlay ultimately left Joe and Maldonado, marrying a woman who also worked at the zoo, and they have a child together.  

FYI: Maldonado and Joe Exotic obtained their marriage license in 2015, as reported by Oxygen, and court records indicate the zookeeper was never legally married to Finlay. 

Joe Exotic got hitched again before his arrest

After John Finlay left Joe Exotic, Travis Maldonado died at age 23 in a tragic accident. The 2017 incident occurred in the office of the zoo’s gift shop, where he was trying to prove something he saw on the internet about his pistol. Maldonado believed the gun wouldn’t fire without its magazine, putting the weapon to his head after removing the said magazine to demonstrate his theory. Knowing there was still a bullet in the pistol’s chamber, Maldonado pulled the trigger and accidentally shot himself dead, The Oklahoman reported.

Just two months after Maldonado’s death, Joe married a 19-year-old man he met online named Dillon Passage. Joe then left the zoo and moved to Gulf Breeze, Fla. with Passage, where they lived together until Joe was arrested in 2018 for conspiring to kill Carole Baskin. Joe and Passage are reportedly still together as of 2019, according to The Daily Beast. 

It remains to be seen what will happen with the couple’s marriage, as Joe Exotic was sentenced to 22 years of jail in January 2020.

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