TIGER King star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle has been forced to deny claims that he has “multiple marriages” after the Netflix documentary suggested he had “nine wives”.
Joe Exotic, the star of the seven-part documentary claims at one point that he believes Doc has three to four wives, while Joe’s former employee Kelci Saffery alleges he has nine wives.
But speaking to People magazine, Doc has denied the accusations, insisting he has not married since his wife died 25 years ago.
“I’m not married,” the 60-year-old animal trainer said.
“My wife died 25 years ago in a car crash here in Myrtle Beach. I’ve never been married since.”
Doc confirmed that he does have “lovely girls” in his life whom he “shares time” with, however, he was adamant that they are not married to him.
“I certainly have lovely girls that I’ve met in my life who share time and opportunity with me, but they are by no means my wives,” he said.
The Netflix documentary also spoke to one of Doc’s former apprentice’s Barbara Fischer, who implied that it was made clear to her during her time at the safari that sleeping with Doc would lead to better opportunities; she also claimed that he suggested she get a boob job.
The apprentice page on his website has since been removed but In Touch Weekly allege that candidates have to “have a specific set of credentials to be considered”.
“They must be single and childless and be ‘within 20 pounds of their ‘perfect athletic weight or working to get there,’ able to do push-ups, pull-ups and run a 12-minute mile,” the publication claimed, adding: “They must be vegetarian and can’t smoke or drink.”
Since the release of the documentary on the streaming platform, Doc has distanced himself and the park from the episodes, claiming that they are “disappointed” that the facility was mentioned in the series.
“We can only assume it is because Doc Antle has been such a high profile wildlife personality for so many decades that his association would create more buzz. It is important to understand that this series is not a documentary; it’s sensationalized entertainment with paid participants,” a social media post read.
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