Tiger King could not have come along at a better time. Somehow, even during a global pandemic where huge swaths of the population are in some form of quarantine, Tiger King manages to remind us all that things could indeed be a lot crazier. As we binge the Netflix series that follows Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, as he becomes embroiled in a murder-for-hire plot, we can’t help but wonder about everyone else involved in Exotic’s plans to become one of America’s most famous big cat zoos. Namely, what ever happened to his husband John Finlay?
Well, in short, they are now ex-husbands. Finlay first joined the staff of G.W. Exotic Animal Park in 2003, when he was 19, and worked there as president of the park until 2013, when he left after being accused of domestic abuse and abuse of other park employees. In 2013, he and Exotic entered a throuple with new park employee, Travis, then 19. Their wedding was zoo-themed. Finlay’s relationship with Exotic fell apart soon after he left his job at the animal park. In January, Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison for charges related to his murder-for-hire scheme as well as killing tigers to make room for more big cats in his animal park.
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After Tiger King first hit Netflix, Finlay created a Facebook account titled “The Truth About John Finlay,” leading people to believe that he didn’t completely approve of his depiction in the series.
Now, he has a completely different career. According to PAPER, he is working as a welder. He’s living in Oklahoma with his fiancée, Stormey. His appearance has changed quite a bit as well. While filming the series, Finlay is seen missing multiple teeth. While he was candid about his use of methamphetamines during his relationship with Exotic, Finlay told TMZ that the cause of his missing teeth was a result of genetics and not drug use, of which he has been clean for six years. In 2019, he underwent dental surgery and now has a full set of dentures and seems excited to show the world his glow-up.
MY BOY GOT NEW TEETHhttps://t.co/2bh9J3LJ4N
— Hannah Marcellina (@hmmarcellina) March 25, 2020
According to TMZ, Finlay is displeased with Netflix’s edit of the docuseries. He got his teeth redone in July 2019, and there was reportedly footage of it that didn’t make the final cut of the show.
Tiger King is now streaming on Netflix.
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