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'Dancing With The Stars': Who is Carole Baskin's husband Howard with whom she's married for 16 years?

Carole met Howard in 2002, the same year that her first husband Don Lewis was finally declared dead after he disappeared in 1997

'Tiger King' star and now a participant on 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 29, Carole Baskin rose to prominence in March this year after featuring on the Netflix documentary. The majority of the show's episodes focused on her marriages, while Joe Exotic kept insinuating that she killed her former husband Jack 'Don' Lewis by allegedly feeding her to her tigers. 'Don' Lewis disappeared in 1997, two months after he filed a restraining order against her. However, Carole has dismissed all the rumors, and joining her in doing so is her husband Howard Baskin, whom she met in 2002, the same year that her Don was finally declared dead. 

Howard and Carole met at an animal advocacy event for 'No More Homeless Pets' in 2002. A management consultant with an MBA from Harvard and a law degree, Howard was as supportive and committed as Carole to saving the big cats. The documentary did a good job of suggesting that she and Howard were a perfect march for each other by featuring a photograph of the two from their wedding day that saw Howard dressed up as a caveman on a leash, according to Oprah Mag. 

Howard proposed to Carole on Anna Maria Island in Florida. "Carole was so overwhelmed that all she could do was write YES! in the sand. This was her dream come true and the man she had waited a lifetime to meet," reads a section of the blog on Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary's website. They married on the same beach in 2004 and Carole's vows included things like, "You will actively seek ways to keep your relationship, and your partner’s life, fresh and interesting, but not so interesting that you drive Howie nuts."

Howard's vows included, "Howie, you promise to close drawers and cabinet doors after removing items, and particularly the closet door to keep your old cat Crystal from peeing on Carole’s clothes." Explaining the theme of the wedding that saw Howard on a leash, the blog details, "The theme was one of caveman takes bride before the ceremony and bride puts caveman on a short leash immediately after."

Carole and Howard now work together at the Big Cat Rescue that was originally started by Don. Howard is now the Chairman of the Advisory Board and the blog states that he uses his expertise as a CFO to help the organization. "He worked with Carole full time to build awareness of Big Cat Rescue and its mission and build a sound financial base from which to continue our work."

After the release of 'Tiger King', Howard sat down in front of the camera defending his wife fiercely but also emotionally reflecting on the years he'd spent being married to her. "Anyone who spends an hour with Carole would come away knowing she didn't have any involvement in Don's disappearance," Howard said. He also added, "In 15 years of living together, we have never had an argument. We have never even had a harsh word where the other one had to come back later and say, 'I'm sorry I had to say that.' We make decisions every week. We don't always agree. We talk about it. We listen to each other's reasoning."

Howard is not the one to run when the going gets tough and when the whole world began to point fingers at Carole, he chose to stand strong alongside her and said, "I honestly believe I am the luckiest man in the world. I could not imagine having a more considerate and caring spouse."

Carole's 'DWTS' outing too has Howard's blessings and he's happy that she's taking a break and having fun while also lamenting on the fact that this will be the first time in their years together that they'll be apart for more than a weekend. "It's going to be tough, but we're going to be Zooming," he said in a video posted on his YouTube account. 

'Dancing With The Stars' airs on Mondays at 8 pm on ABC.