Tiger King's Joe Exotic and husband Dillon Passage are getting a divorce

Photo credit: Tiger King - Netflix
Photo credit: Tiger King - Netflix
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From Cosmopolitan

Tiger King's Joe Exotic and husband Dillon Passage are filing for divorce, as confirmed by Passage's Instagram post yesterday.

For a moment, Exotic and Passage were anticipating former President Donald Trump to pardon the ex-zoo owner, who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after being charged with a murder-for-hire plot and animal abuse. On Trump's last day in office, he pardoned 143 people (including rapper Lil Wayne), but not Joe.

Passage shared an Instagram caption yesterday explaining that the pair met in 2017, and Joe was arrested just 9 months later. That meant that they've spent most of their relationship apart, and when Tiger King was released, Passage was unprepared for being thrust into the spotlight.

Passage explained, "The presidential pardon we were all waiting for never came and our hopes were dashed. I remain in support of Joe and want to be there for him. At 25, I also need to make sure I’m healthy, both body and mind."

Later, he continued on in a second post, "To answer the main question the public wants to know, yes, Joe and I are seeking a divorce. This wasn’t an easy decision to make but Joe and I both understand that this situation isn’t fair to either of us. It’s something that neither of us were expecting but we are going to take it day by day. We are on good terms still and I hope it can stay that way. I will continue to have Joe in my life and do my best to support him while he undergoes further legal battles to better his situation."

Joe Exotic then shared an emotional caption with his thoughts on the matter (below), under which Passage commented, "While I much prefer to handle personal matters personally, and not on social media, I’ll address this tomorrow."

Passage concluded, "I know even though Joe may rant, he wants the best for me as I do for him. I am certain he wants me to lead a full life as all of you do for the people you love.

"Social media is not natural to me and if I’m quiet it’s usually because I’m working through all of this and processing to the best of my ability. I didn’t and don’t want the spotlight. I’ve been thrown into this and just doing my best to support Joe, live my life, and love my dogs."

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