Joe Exotic, also known as Tiger King, has filed for divorce from his wife, Dillon Passage while serving a 21-year sentence for orchestrating the murder of Carole Baskin. Autumn Blackledge, Exotic’s attorney, told TMZ that the 59-year-old former animal trainer desires that he and his ex-girlfriend, 25 years old, move on with their lives quickly and peacefully.
Joe Exotic, whose true name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, filed for divorce in Santa Rosa County, Florida, where he and Passage previously resided as a married couple and where Passage now resides.
The news arrived one year after the bartender called the Texas penitentiary to end their four-year marriage. According to reports, Exotic was dissatisfied and contemplating pursuing a divorce action against Passage.
Joe Exotic reportedly told a friend after the phone call that he felt “abandoned and alone” and that he “just wanted to mean something to someone.”
Although the former owner of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park was infuriated by the breakup, Dillon maintained that there were no hard feelings and that Exotic would continue to support him during his prison term.
The lives of Joe Exotic and Dillon Passage have evolved
According to Blackledge, Exotic and Passage have moved on romantically, and “they should each be able to love again without the confines of marriage.”
“As Joe’s cancer treatment nears its completion, he has fallen in love. He has no ill will against Dillon but has been working to reach a divorce settlement with him for some time.
While Passage’s manager, Jeff Duncan, tells the website that the band is happy that their divorce from Joe has been formalized, he adds that the band members are still close.
“His attorneys had already drafted the necessary paperwork on two separate occasions, but Joe did not sign it and thereafter disregarded it. Dillon is relieved to have closure and eager to move on with his divorce petition to Joseph Maldonado.”
In July 2021, Dillion Passage and his current partner, John, made their new relationship on the Instagram official. While publishing a photo with him, the passage stated that he would prefer to keep their connection private for “personal reasons.”
The actor, who was recently sentenced to 21 years in prison for murder-for-hire, also demanded that the surname Passage be removed from his legal name.
The couple’s relationship originally came to light due to the 2020 debut of the first season of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness on Netflix.
The series gave viewers a more in-depth look at the clandestine world of giant cat breeding, specifically Maldonado’s story and his conflict with Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist and the CEO of Big Cat Rescue.
Passage and Maldonado-Passage were married last December. A little more than two years later, Maldonado-Passage was convicted of attempting to hire two other individuals to kill Baskin.
When the former zookeeper was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January, a federal court reduced his sentence from 22 to 21 years in an Oklahoma jail.
Passage initially supported Joe Exotic, telling the public in June 2020 that they had adapted to their condition, but in March 2021, he revealed their breakup.
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