One year after the death of his beloved wife Beth, who died in June of 2019 at the age of 51 following a battle with cancer, Duane “Dog The Bounty Hunter” Chapman is engaged to Colorado rancher Francie Frane. Now, Dog is speaking out to reveal the role that his children will have in his upcoming wedding.
“I started when I was 15, having children … and so, my kids are my life,” Dog, 67, told In Touch Magazine. He added that his kids are looking forward to the wedding, saying, “They all have their own ideas … It’s a family-planned marriage.”
Though Dog and Frane have not set a date for their nuptials yet, he said they are currently brainstorming their options.
“I had a huge wedding with Beth [Chapman] and Francie had a big wedding with [her late spouse] Bob,” Dog explained. “I don’t know if people understand this, but Francie and I are not having a wedding, we’re going to have a marriage. We already had a wedding, both of us in our lives, and they’ll never be another like the one we both had. This is going to be more of a marriage than a wedding.”
He went on to say that this will be “a whole new deal in [his] life” and that he likes to plan things “no one has ever seen or heard of.”
Dog shocked his fans when he announced his engagement to Frane back in May.
“I recognize what real love is and I love my Francie,” he said at the time. “We’re in a terrific place right now. We’re getting to know each other, but we were quarantined together.”
Dog has previously said that Frane has helped his children grieve for their late mother.
“Francie is there for them. She’s not their mom, but she’s helping a lot,” he previously told In Touch. “Every day, you know, I try to talk to every one of my kids … and some days, it’s tough for them and some days, it’s less tough.”
Dog has also said that he believes that Beth would support him moving on and marrying again.
“I need a partner,” said Dog. “I’ve said it before. There will never be another Mrs. Dog. There is not. Francie couldn’t do that. There will be a last Mrs. Chapman. If Beth was here, and saw Francie and saw how she was raised, her morality and this and that, Beth would say, ‘Big daddy, don’t lose her.’ ”
“You’ll never forget the spouse,” he added. “You can’t help it. I will never forget. But I’ve got to get out there. I’ve got to be able to say, ‘I came out of this and you can, too.’ As a human being, I don’t think you look for — not a replacement, because you can never find one. I’m learning that right now.”
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