Meet Dawn Thurston, third wife of Doc Antle from “Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story”. In his younger years, Doc lived quite a promiscuous life that he self-admits. So, fans of the show are interested to learn about his wives. Scroll down this Dawn Thurston Bio.
Here we cover information on everything Dawn Thurston.
Meet Dawn Thurston, Doc Antle Third Wife
Dawn Marie Thurston is the third wife of Doc Antle from “Tiger King”. She originally came from Crozet, Virginia. She attended Western Albemarle High School based on the sophomore photo from the school’s yearbook according to Heavy.
It remains unclear how they met each other and since when they started dating each other. But, according to a 1989 Macon Chronicle-Herald article, she was referred to as Mrs. Bhagavan Antle.
The couple was in Macon, Missouri, to purchase new animals for the old T.I.G.E.R.S. facility in Buckingham, Virginia, at the Lolli Brothers Exotic Animal and Bird Sale. She mentioned in the article that she assisted in the training of many of his animals, including Nikki, a 48-day-old liter.
Dawn was also associated with several of the creatures that are still on the preserve; in 1995, a photo showing her riding Bubbles, the elephant, with Antle was published in the Virginia newspaper The Observer.
The Observer also reported Dawn is the mother of two children of Doc Antle; Kody and Tawny Sky Antle.
Is Dawn Thurston Dead?
Yes, Dawn Thurston is dead. She passed away on 13 August 1997 at the age of 29 in a car accident.
Did Dawn Thurston Feature On Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story?
Yes, Dawn Thurston’s story was featured on the ‘Tiger King’. However, their love story didn’t get much screen time because of the reason it was unclear how they met and when did they got married.
Dawn Thurston Age
Dawn was reportedly born on 15 October 1967. She was 29 years old at the time of this writing.
Who Are Doc Antle’s Other Wives?
Netflix’s documentary ‘Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story’ was released as a three-part series. In the first two episodes, three women claimed that they married Doc Antle. So, who are the other wives of Doc Antle, scroll down to learn about them.
Doc’s first wife was Betsy ‘Brahmi’ Rogers. They met each other in high school. They changed their birth name and soon got married after a one-month retreat at Yogaville. Betsy claimed that he would sleep with other women claiming he had consent for an open relationship which they didn’t.
She further claimed he would pick teenage girls whose parents weren’t concerned about them. Betsy claimed that he was only interested in her because she looked like 12 until she turned 30 and weighed 100 pounds. She accused her husband of strangling her and getting mad at her for getting pregnant.
While married to Betsy, Doc started having sexual intercourse with Yogaville devotee Sumati Steinberg who was only 14 at the time. Sumati revealed, “He hit on several of the teenage girls that day in the lake. He was 22 I was 14. He spent a long time, six months, sending me poetry, getting me flowers, just really wooing me.”
She also made other horrific claims saying, “He did a nude photoshoot of me and a boa constrictor and luckily his wife Brahmi (Betsy) found those pictures and burnt them.” The couple allegedly slept together on Sumati’s 15th birthday. The pair went on to honeymoon in the Virgin Islands with his first wife, Betsy.
Four years into their relationship, Sumati fell pregnant with Tilakam.
When Sumati got pregnant first he denied himself as the father and later forced her to get an abortion. At the time, he had already started a relationship with another 14-year-old girl, Radha Hirsch. Radha also claimed that she slept with Doc when she was only 14 years old.
Radha’s mom knew about the relationship and was uncomfortable with it. But she told her, “don’t worry, we’re going to work it out, we’re going to be together”. Radha shared, “He put me in a hotel on the outskirts of DC. I was living in an Econo Lodge by myself for at least a month.”
She married Doc at the age of 15 after he “abducted” her.
Radha contacted her mother and let her know that she was fine but told Doc about it. To keep her in disguise, she cut her hair and changed her name to Chantal Rivera. They moved to Virginia to live in his zoo. Soon after their marriage ran into problems.
Other names with whom he linked up are Rajani Ferrante and China York.
Who Is Doc Antle Married To Today?
As of 2021, Doc Antle appears to be in a relationship with Moksha Bybee, real name Meredith. They have been in a relationship since 2001. They met each other while Moksha was working as an apprentice at T.I.G.E.R.S. She works as a manager of the zoo as of 2021.
But, Doc, on the other hand, claimed to be single. He told to Oxygen.com,’ “Sure I’ve had girlfriends and there are girls I have had relationships with that have come and gone over the decades … [but] I am not married nor have I been since my wife died over 20 years ago now. I’m not married and I certainly don’t have wives. I certainly am a single guy and I live in a house by myself.”
