Netflix is adding another documentary to its slate of films, this time looking at the world of big cat enthusiast Doc Antle in the three-part series Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story.
Doc Antle – also known as Bhagavan – appeared alongside Joe Exotic in the first Tiger King film, which aired last year during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
He is an animal trainer and the director and founder of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.), which according to the official website is “a world-renowned 50-acre wildlife preserve located in South Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA”.
Following Tiger King, Antle faced a lot of criticism and was indicted on 15 charges including animal cruelty and wildlife trafficking in October 2020 – claims he strongly denies.
The three-part series, which arrives on Netflix today (10th December), hopes to shed more light on Antle, with interviews from some of his former staff and his ex-wives.
But, who were Antle’s wives? And who is he married to now?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Betsy ‘Brahmi’ Rogers
Betsy is revealed as Doc’s first wife in the documentary.
“They seemed like a happily married couple in a sense and Bhagavan used to use them as an example about how happy they were and what a wonderful couple they were which was sort of interesting,” one of the contributors reveals in the documentary.
In the film, Betsy’s brother claims she never “dealt with” the relationship. Betsy agrees she never “got over it” and calls Doc the “love of her life”.
The pair met in high school. At the time, Bhagavan was known as Kevin.
After they got married, Doc and Betsy attended a one-month retreat at Yogaville to become certified yoga instructors. Besty says their names were changed by the leader, Indian guru Swami Satchidananda. Betsy became Brahmi and Doc became Sri Mahatmayavi Bhagavan Antle.
Brahmi later fell pregnant with their child.
Sumati Steinberg
Sumati met Bhagavan in the 1980s in Virginia, when she was 14 and he was 22.
According to Sumati, the pair got married when she was 15 years old in a spiritual ceremony, which took place in his meditation room and involved him “putting a wedding band on me and I was supposed to be his wife and he was supposed to be my husband”.
Four years into their relationship, Sumati fell pregnant with Tilakam.
In a tape recording, Doc says about their child: “Tilakam’s mum was a crazy little teenager, that you know I just happened to be hanging out with a little too long, and she got pregnant. I drag her ass to the Downtown Marriott in Washington DC and didn’t follow through on the birth control like we were supposed to and lo and behold, baby!”
Radha Hirsch
Doc is said to have met Radha when he was 25 years old and she was 14.
According to Radha, the pair got married when she was 15.
“We forged my father’s signature on the marriage licence because you are not allowed to get married at 15 without your parents’ consent,” she explains in the documentary.
The pair later split, however, as Radha reveals in the documentary that she fell out of love with him after an alleged confession.
Dawn Thurston
Dawn is revealed as Doc’s “third wife” in the documentary. Not much is shared about their relationship in the three-part series and it’s unclear how they met. However, Thurston and Antle were featured together in a 1989 article from the Macon Chronicle-Herald and she’s referred to as Mrs Bhagavan Antle in the issue.
According to a death notice in The Observer, a paper out of Charlottesville, Virginia, Dawn Marie Thurston died at the age of 29 in a car accident. She is the mother of Antle’s two children, Kody and Tawny Antle.
Who is Doc married to now?
Moksha Bybee, whose real name is Meredith, but is known as Monkey Mama, has been in a relationship with Doc since 2001.
She met him while working as an apprentice at T.I.G.E.R.S. and is currently the general manager of the zoo.
Rajani Ferrante – who is the assistant director – has also been linked to Doc, while China York, real name Michelle, is another rumoured girlfriend and is the director of the Miami branch.
Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story is streaming on Netflix now. You can also check out the best best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix to keep you entertained or visit to our TV guide for more to watch.