Just when you thought the Tiger King saga couldn’t get more dramatic, Joe Exotic’s love life has taken another chaotic turn.
Jorge Marquez Flores, the 33-year-old husband of Joseph Maldonado-Passage — better known to the world as Joe Exotic — was deported to Mexico shortly after being released from a Texas prison. The abrupt removal has left the former zoo owner heartbroken and, as always, very vocal about it on social media.
According to posts made by Maldonado-Passage, Flores was transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center following his release. The Tiger King star claimed his husband was supposed to have a hearing to determine his immigration status but was instead deported within hours.
“Rough day getting around. The ICE agents didn’t understand why he got sent back so fast,” Maldonado-Passage wrote in a May 19 Instagram post. “He had a hearing scheduled for tomorrow. @realdonaldtrump just let me go to Mexico and you can keep Carole Baskin.”
Never one to keep things subtle, he also pleaded for help to reunite with Flores, tagging Trump and referencing his infamous feud with Baskin — a nod to the ongoing theatrics that keep Exotic firmly planted in the pop culture spotlight.
Flores’ deportation marks a heartbreaking development in what was one of the more surprising romantic subplots of Maldonado-Passage’s post-Tiger King life. Just last month, the 62-year-old revealed that he had tied the knot with Flores while they were both serving time in prison. He shared a photo of the newlyweds on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “Never been more proud of someone. Meet my husband, Jorge Flores Maldonado.”
Their romance reportedly began behind bars, and in a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, Maldonado-Passage described their bond as deep and genuine, saying they spent every possible moment together. The couple became engaged in 2024 and quietly exchanged vows earlier this year.
If the sudden deportation came as a shock to Joe, it likely wasn’t any easier for Flores — who was said to be preparing for an immigration hearing before being taken out of the country with little warning. TMZ was first to report the news, confirming Flores’ removal just hours after he arrived at the detention facility.
For fans keeping count, Flores is Joe Exotic’s sixth husband. His marital resume reads like a wild true-crime love story: J.C. Hartpence, Brian Rhyne, John Finlay, Travis Maldonado, Dillon Passage, and now Jorge Flores. He also made headlines in 2014 for an eyebrow-raising three-way wedding. Exotic’s love life has never lacked for drama, but this latest chapter might be the most bittersweet yet.
Joe Exotic, of course, skyrocketed to international infamy following Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, the binge-worthy docuseries that captivated millions during the early days of the pandemic. But while the memes were endless, Exotic’s real-life story is far more grim.
In April 2019, a federal jury convicted him of attempting to hire two individuals — including an undercover FBI agent — to murder Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue and his longtime adversary. He was also found guilty of multiple violations of wildlife laws, including killing tigers at his G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, to make room for new big cats.
Serving as his own attorney during the trial, Maldonado-Passage was ultimately sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison. He is currently incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas — the same facility where he married Flores earlier this year.
Despite his imprisonment, Exotic has remained a fixture in the media, often taking to social media to campaign for a presidential pardon, post updates about his health, and now, share his heartbreak over Flores’ deportation. In his latest posts, he continues to plead for intervention — or at the very least, for someone to listen to what he claims is “the evidence” that could clear his name.
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess whether Flores will be able to return to the United States or if Exotic will find a way to be reunited with him in Mexico. What is certain is that, even from behind bars, Joe Exotic still knows how to command attention — and tug on the heartstrings of a fanbase that can’t seem to look away.
For now, the Tiger King is left alone once more — this time, not by tigers or the justice system, but by a twist of immigration law that’s added another layer of heartbreak to his already infamous story.
