Joe Exotic, the star of Netflix’s “Tiger King,” has announced his marriage to fellow inmate Jorge Flores Maldonado. The couple met while serving time at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Exotic is currently serving a 21-year sentence for a murder-for-hire plot targeting animal rights activist Carole Baskin and multiple violations of the Endangered Species Act.
He has been behind bars since his conviction in 2020. “Never been more proud of someone,” Exotic shared on social media platform X. “Meet my husband Jorge Flores Maldonado.”
Jorge had been transferred to the Federal Medical Center from the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas, after entering the United States illegally.
Marriage behind bars
Despite the challenges of being incarcerated, the couple managed to navigate the bureaucratic hurdles to obtain approval for their marriage. “Heterosexuals get married in here all day long,” Exotic said in a previous interview.
“But I’m hoping that they respect our constitutional right, and we will still uphold and abide by the rules and the law.”
Exotic revealed his engagement to Jorge on social media in October, describing Jorge as “amazing” and expressing hope for a future together either in the United States or elsewhere if they are released. “Either way, I wish I would have met him long ago,” Exotic wrote. The relationship appears to have brought a significant amount of joy and hope to Exotic, who has been vocal about his belief in his innocence and his desire to prove it, even as he continues to campaign for public attention from behind bars.
Exotic’s tumultuous life and legal battles were the focus of the widely-watched “Tiger King” documentary series, which highlighted his career as a zookeeper and the dramatic conflicts that led to his legal woes.
