‘Tiger King’ Fans Can’t Believe Joe Exotic’s Ex John Finlay’s Transformation in Aftershow Episode

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness fans are in shock after John Finlay debuted a brand-new look during Sunday’s aftershow. After appearing throughout the first seven episodes shirtless and with a smile that showed missing teeth, Finlay, who was previously married to Joe Exotic, flashed a new smile, a beard, and was even fully clothed.

According to Finlay, “it took a while” for him to get his new set of teeth, and even after he got them, “it took me a while to get ’em to where I was able to really wear ’em.” Now, however, he “pretty much” wears them “all the time.” Prior to Sunday’s brand-new episode, Finlay had revealed that he had his new teeth throughout filming of the series, though Tiger King chose to portray him as a “drugged-out hillbilly,” despite that he has been sober for several years.

The stark contrast in his appearance now versus what fans had seen on the Netflix docuseries left many in shock. On social media, many claimed that Finlay was unrecognizable, many applauding his new look and new lease on life. Keep scrolling to see some of the reactions.

​

“Biggest surprise from [The Tiger King and I], John Finlay owns shirts and teeth,” reacted one person. “Thank you so much [Joel McHale], you’re the real MVP.”

“Can we just acknowledge how John Finley from the [Tiger King] really turned his life around and I’m not just talking about new teeth,” tweeted somebody else. “He looks healthy.”

​

“I’m enjoying the [Tiger King] reunion episode so far,” wrote another person. “Everybody looks so much healthier and seems to be doing good. John Finlay & John Reinke got new teeth looking good.”

“John looks healthy his new teeth look great. Good for him & this glow up. I hope he keeps it up,” commented one. “You truly underestimate how much teeth can change a person’s face until they’re no longer there.”

“Honey, John Finlay is camera ready! He has a new set of teeth and a shirt on for this interview!” shared another.

​

Shortly after Tiger King debuted, raking in 34 million viewers within its first 10 days of streaming, Finlay had revealed to TMZ that he had dental work done in June of 2019. He added that the series had plenty of footage and photos of him with his new teeth, though none of that made it ot the screen, something he took issue with.

​

Finlay has also denied that his broken smile was due to drug use. Although he admits to abusing drugs, he explained in a Facebook post that his teeth “were fixed before, but kept braking (sic) from accidents on four wheelers, animal attacks, and getting beat up while building cages.”

​

Speaking with Us Weekly, Finlay said that he had oral surgery, stating that “it was just one of those things that I needed to do for myself.” Currently engaged to Stormey Sanders, he said that he wanted to get his teeth fixed before they said they walked down the aisle. He recalled that he “was like, ‘Before we get married, we’re getting my teeth fixed.’ And within that week she had an appointment scheduled, and it was done.” Now, he smiles “a lot more.”

​

Recently speaking with Variety, Finlay opened up about the many things that Tiger King didn’t show and the things that he wished would have been shown. According to Finlay, the series was very selective with what made it to screen.

“I’ve been six years clean since all that was aired. I was never married to Joe or to my baby’s mama — we’re engaged now. They never showed that because they knew I was engaged at the time. They never showed that tattoo fully done. They never showed what it was like to be around the animals or anything. They just focused on the drama,” he said. “I’d show more of the positive. They never showed that we helped quite a few people with their last, dying wishes to be able to pet a tiger, pet a bear, pet a wolf. That gave me a different outlook on life, why a lot of people do what they do before they go and where I needed to be.”

​

Finlay, who has said that his life has changed for the better thanks to his fiancée, has hopes of becoming a motivational speaker. He left fans with a final inspirational message, reminding them that “anybody can change their life for the better. We can all have better lives if we just apply ourselves to it and have a positive attitude. Nothing is written in stone, ‘You have to be this way or you have to be that way.’ We can all change our own lives of how everything should be.”