Don Lewis had become the source of much speculation in the Netflix series Tiger King, with big cat keeper Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, speculating that Baskin could have had something to do with her ex's disappearance.
But in one of the biggest plot twists ever, Baskin says her ex is in good health and currently residing in Central America.
In a resurfaced interview from November 2021, the animal rights activist claimed the US Department of Homeland Security had been in contact with Lewis and had known his whereabouts for years.
“One of the really exciting things that came out of Tiger King 2 is that they produced a letter from Homeland Security and it says that a special agent in charge with the FBI at Homeland Security reached out to the sheriff’s detective George [Jorge] Fernandez, which means this had to have happened after 2002, because Homeland Security wasn’t even around until 2002,” she said.
She added: “They said that my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica.”
When asked if she was surprised he was alive, Baskin replied: “I didn’t think he was capable of supporting himself.
"He took about a million dollars down to Costa Rica, I had agreed to let him do that so he could prove to himself that he could make a living.”
*The fact-checking site Snopes has dug into the claim and at the moment of writing says it's 'unproven' whether Don is alive, despite Baskin's claims.
The interview has sent shockwaves across Twitter.
One person wrote: “My mom just told me Carole Baskin’s husband that was presumed dead and you know we all thought she fed him to the tigers, was found alive in Costa Rica???”
Another said: “How did I miss that Carole Baskin's husband that went missing and claimed to be fed to the tigers was actually found alive in Costa Rica last year?”
While a third commented: “Bruh we all owe Carole a huge apology. We done vilified this woman.
“Swore up and down that this lady killed her husband, just to find out Don is ALIVE!!!! Damn our bad girl.”
Carole Baskin's missing former husband has been found alive and well in Costa Rica.
www.her.ie
people.com
