‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic, 61, Engaged to Fellow Inmate, 33

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Netflix’s Tiger King star Joe Exotic, also known as Joe Maldonado-Passage, is reportedly engaged for the third time while serving a 21-year prison sentence for murder-for-hire.

The 61-year-old reality TV personality announced his engagement to 33-year-old Jorge Marquez, whom he met while incarcerated. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, October 28, Joe introduced his fiancé to fans, writing, “He is so amazing and is from Mexico.”

Joe elaborated on the couple’s future plans, stating, “Now, the quest of getting married in prison and getting him asylum or we [will] be leaving America when we both get out. Either way, I wish I would have met him long ago.”

Joe is no stranger to love and has been married twice before. His first husband, Travis Maldonado, tragically died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2017, a moment captured in the Netflix series. Later that year, Joe went on to marry Dillon Passage, but the couple split in 2021 after nearly three and a half years together. Passage confirmed their divorce on Instagram, noting, “This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but Joe and I both understand that this situation isn’t fair to either of us.”

Joe’s criminal history includes a conviction for animal abuse and an alleged murder-for-hire plot against rival big cat rescuer Carole Baskin, which is covered in the documentary as well.