One man opened up on the surprising reason why he lived in a cardboard box and ate out of rubbish bags

FROM horse brides to scrapping strippers, paternity tests to a woman who sawed off her own legs, the Jerry Springer Show prided itself as being the most outrageous thing on TV.

Jerry, who died last year, had such a cult following that his own show even introduced him as the “eighth wonder of the world.”

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Jerry Springer’s talk show quickly established the host as a cultural iconCredit: Getty

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The show was often chaotic and had some of the wildest guests ever seen on reality TVCredit: Getty

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This episode was so disturbing that it has been bannedCredit: YouTube
But the notorious host would be nothing without his guests and their outrageous stories, which played out live on his stage.

As a new Netflix documentary looks back at the phenomenon, here are some of the wildest guests ever to grace the Jerry Springer Show.

I married a horse

In 2004, Springer guest Mark, a Missouri farmer and zoophile, introduced a truly disgusted audience to his ‘wife’, a horse named Pixel.

“I had to earn her love and respect,” Mark said in a voiceover, while showing off photos he had taken of Pixel wearing women’s underwear.

Springer later told chat show host Meredith Viera that he did not know what Mark was going to reveal on the show and was just as shocked as the audience when the horse arrived on stage.

Mark told Jerry that his neighbours didn’t like his wife – and then admitted she was a horse.

He said they had been together for ten years and married for five – and, most controversially, had had sexual relations.

Springer staff member Kim Nelson was given the task of leading the pony on to the stage to meet her husband.

She recalled: “When I led the horse into the studio, the cheers turned to gasps and shrieks of shock.

“At the end of her lead line, the poor pony ambled along behind me.

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Netflix jaw-dropping documentary goes behind the scenes of the Jerry Springer Show

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Mark disgusted the audience when he revealed that he had married a horse
“She trusted me. I felt like a traitor to her, leading her into the pit. It was like the Crusades but instead of lions, I was feeding her to a sleaze-loving audience and a creepy pervert.”

At the end of the episode, Jerry said: “You can love and admire the beauty and grace of a horse, you can pet it, you can even bet on it. But if you’re going to ride it, make sure you’re up in the saddle.”

His jokes fell flat when the 1998 episode sparked outrage across the world and was banned for breaching bestiality laws.

My stepmom is also my wife

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Cory shocked viewers when he brought his step mum on the show to marry herCredit: NBC

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The episode featured an intense confrontation between Cory, his step mum, and his fatherCredit: NBC
Wedding bells were ringing on the show back in 2010 when Cory married his stepmom live on air – in front of his dad.

Cory told Jerry he was madly in love with his stepmom Kimberley – even though he knew it was wrong. He said: “It is not something I planned to happen, I was striving to do in spite of my dad, go against him or whatever.”

Cory had been married with a child himself but had moved back to live with his dad and stepmom after his relationship fell apart.

And he admitted to Jerry that he and his stepmom had been intimate.

Cory said: “One day we were lay in bed watching a movie and she said her back was hurting. So I offered to give her a back massage and one thing led to another and we had sex.”

Jerry then brought out Cory’s dad Richard who came on stage shouting: “Man you ruined my family, you took my wife away.”

He then added: “How could you ever have intercourse with your mother?”

Next, Jerry brought out stepmom Kimberley in a full bridal gown who then went on to passionately kiss Cory on stage in front of husband Richard and the horrified studio audience.

Kimberley told everyone that Richard had treated her badly during their marriage and destroyed her self-esteem.

But despite the fact they were still legally wed, Kimberley went on to exchange vows with Cory on stage – in front of her husband, his father.

I’m happy I cut off my legs

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Sandra said she did not want her legs anymore so chose to cut them off
Jerry introduced this guest to a whooping and cheering audience by claiming: “This is the most bizarre story we have done in our 15 year history.”

Transgender woman Sandra had begun wearing women’s clothes at the age of 12 but then two years later decided she didn’t want her legs.

She began living as a woman at the age of 35 and eventually at the age of 47 she took a circular saw and cut off her own legs.

Sandra wheeled herself onto the stage with the remaining stumps of her legs uncovered.

She told Springer: “I didn’t want them. My brain kept saying get rid of them so I had to get rid of them.”

I live in a box

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In a bid to get his ex back, Kurt lived outside a box in front of her homeCredit: NBC
Back in 2001 guest Lynne told Jerry that her relationship with her husband was over, but he refused to think out of the box. Quite literally.

Lynne threw husband Kurt out after three years of marriage due to his lying and cheating.

But he refused to believe the split was final and in protest had been living outside her house for weeks dressed in nothing but a giant cardboard box.

He said: “You have put me out here and everything I own is in that house. I don’t want any of it if I can’t have it with you.”

To which Lynne replied: “I never told you to live in that box.”

He told the Springer show that he spent his days outside Lynne’s house doodling love messages and her picture on to his cardboard box.

Kurt also ate food out of the rubbish bags that Lynne put into the bin outside her house.

And despite Lynne making it clear she no longer loved him, Kurt spent his nights serenading her on his guitar outside her house – come hail or rain.

Kurt had one more trick up his sleeve – he vowed to sit it out on Jerry’s stage until Lynne agreed to take him back.

I cut off my manhood

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Earl cut off his own manhood with the help of a pair of garden shears
In an episode to make every man wince, guest Earl Zea took to the stage to tell Jerry about his decision to cut off his own penis – with a pair of garden shears.

He told the TV host that it was a move he “regretted more than anything” but he had taken the extreme step because a guy called Ronnie was stalking him and he wanted him to lose interest.

He explained that he had frozen his genitals to make the process easier before flushing it down the toilet.

However, in a twist to the tale, Jerry then brought Ronnie on to the stage on the 1997 episode.

And he claimed that the pair had enjoyed a five-year relationship.

600lb angry mum

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Donna had one of the most intense confrontations with her family on the showCredit: NBC

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She blamed her weight on the fact that she had kids and took care of themCredit: NBC
Mum-of-two Donna was so overweight that she couldn’t go to the toilet or shower by herself – instead relying on her blind husband to assist her.

She told the show that she was angry that they couldn’t have a full sex life because of her obesity and felt guilty that he had to do everything for her.

But she also admitted to gorging on ice cream, doughnuts, French fries and crisps.

She was helped onto the Springer stage where she promptly lifted up her skirts to reveal her rolls of fat to the audience – and then blamed her kids for making her obese saying: “I had my children, I gained weight and this is what they damn did to me.”

She told Jerry: “I took care of those kids from the time they came into the world, every time they loved, every time they walked, I was there. And they can’t take care of me?”

But son Derek hit back saying: “I didn’t force you to eat mum, I took care of you.”

He added: “I did not force feed you. That is not my fault that you are fat mum.”

And he told the audience that he had had to quit school to look after his mum – cooking, cleaning and even wiping her bottom after she had been to the loo.

Daughter Tabitha backed her brother telling Donna: “I don’t have any respect for you right now.”

While Donna’s ex-husband, the kids’ dad, Harry exploded on to the stage, calling her fat and ugly and claiming she was lying and had deserted the kids.

Jerry struggled to get a word in edgeways between the warring pair.

But the final word went to former Jerry Springer guest Marie who had also weighed 600lb last time she appeared on the show.

But she had since lost 357lb and told Donna: “Either fix it or shut up.”

Klanfrontation

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Jerry’s decision to have a serious debate about race did not go as planned
In 1997 Jerry decided to host a debate on race and religion – featuring guests from the Ku Klux Klan and the Jewish Defence League.

This was never going to be a serious religious discussion and one KKK member mockingly revealed a Jewish kippah beneath his hood to JDL chairman Irv Rubin.

It soon descended into an all-out brawl with members of Springer’s security and even audience members getting involved.

The Kung Fu Hillbilly

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Diemon Dave was so confident in his martial arts skills he proclaimed himself to be the Kung Fu HillbillyCredit: NBC
Diemon Dave was so confident in his martial arts skills he proclaimed himself to be the “Kung Fu hillbilly”.

He’d been having issues with his house mate Lil Wayne – no relation to the superstar rapper – and was ready for a full-on fight to settle the score.

But he hadn’t been practising his art for years with a Kung Fu master – no, he had been watching videos of Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme in his trailer and practising in the mirror.

“If he comes out here acting a fool, I’m gon’ kung fu him,” he told the crowd through an extremely thick Southern drawl.

So confident was he in his skills he told Springer security not to get involved.

But when the pair came to blows it quickly became clear that Dave was no Bruce Lee.

Dominatrix Duo in the family

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The family awkwardly spoke about their unconventional family businessCredit: NBC
In 2012 mum and daughter Lady Ice Queen and Princess came on to the show to boast about their small family business – as a dominatrix duo.

The pair talked about how they physically dominated their clients together.

So ever the one for the full audience experience, Jerry invited one of their sex slaves on to the stage for a demonstration.

And they proceeded to make him crawl around the floor and bark like a dog while Princess rode on his back.

But Jerry’s final flourish was to bring the man’s wife out on stage to publicly berate him for his fetish.

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Over the years, many guests had to be separated after huge brawlsCredit: Getty