Two of the personalities shown in Netflix’s new show, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness are now engaged. In an article published in South Carolina newspaper The State on Feb. 11, Jeff Lowe and Lauren Dropla announced their engagement, which began on an unspecified date. As detailed in the article, the couple met when Dropla began working in a retail store Lowe owed in Beaufort, South Carolina. Lowe proposed on the Las Vegas strip “in front of all the lights.” Both were listed as Las Vegas residents in the engagement notice.
The couple splits time between Las Vegas and Wynnewood, Oklahoma, being as as they run the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, the main locale of Tiger King. The seven-episode docuseries tells the story of Joe Exotic (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage) and his various dealings and rivalries in the big cat business. Lowe, who is marred by a questionable legal and financial past, eventually partnered with Exotic in an attempt to bail out the debt-riddled zoo. Lowe eventually took over ownership and aided federal authorities build a murder-for-hire case against Exotic. Exotic was convicted and is currently serving a 22-year sentence.
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After watching the show, Lowe shared he and Dropla’s thoughts on the true crime series via the zoo’s Facebook page. He chose to champion his own cooperation with authorities as the well as address his odd lifestyle, which he compared to the show Sons of Anarchy.
“Lauren and I just finished watching the Tiger King. Overall, we think they did a good job,” Lowe wrote in a now-deleted message. “A little sensationalism here and there, but for the most part it was a decent Readers Digest version, telling the story of a sick, twisted animal abuser. Joe Exotic. When i agreed to be involved in this docuseries I was slightly concerned that by Son’s Of Anarchy lifestyle might be too much for the average person to handle. I make no apologies for living my life to the fullest extent. But those concerns completely vanished when I saw the segment on Doc Antle, Joe’s Messiah and role model. Even I was like,[what the f—]?
“Regardless, Lauren and I remain committed to the care of hundreds of animals who rely on us to keep them safe and healthy. It has exhausted the small fortune I once held, I even sold my Ferrari to help build our animals larger enclosures. But I wouldn’t trade our lives with any Hollywood star. We have some incredibly generous supporters. We’re doing great and when this Coronavirus crap has passed, we will ramp things back up.
“I will always believe that our biggest contribution to the animal kingdom was helping the feds take down monsters like Joe Exotic and Tim Stark. No zoo we ever build will have the positive impact of taking out the nation’s largest tiger cub traffickers. Thank you all for your continued support. Lauren and I are forging on, everyday to complete a new facility that can provide out animals with more space, far away from ‘The Curse of Joe Exotic.’”
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is currently streaming on Netflix.
Photo Credit: Ruaridh Connellan/BarcroftImages / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
