Duane Lee Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, has found love again after the death of his wife, Beth Chapman.
Duane Lee Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, has found love again after the death of his wife, Beth Chapman.
ET can confirm that the 67-year-old reality star is engaged to his girlfriend, Francie Frane, whom he went Instagram official with in April.
A rep for Chapman tells ET, "They're very happy and looking forward to a long life together."
In an interview with The Sun, Chapman said he was even considering inviting fans to their wedding, which he said will happen after social distancing restrictions ease up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"So we're word negotiating right now because I want to open it up," he told the British outlet about his upcoming nuptials. "I would love to have the biggest wedding there's ever been. I'm sorry but that's just me. I hope I can talk Francie into it and open it to my fans, the 'Dog Pound,' to everybody.
"It would be one hell of a party and it's just what people need right now," he continued. "I told Francie, people, they need a little love after being locked down. I love the idea of that."
Frane, 51, also shared how Chapman popped the question, which happened at his home in Colorado, where they've been quarantining together. She said she was surprised by the proposal.
"I think I had gone to pick up some food and then when I came back, he had all the lights turned down with just a few lights on and a bunch of candles lit," she shared. "So when I came in I was like, 'Wow, this is awesome'. Then he said, 'Come in, sit down because I need to talk to you'. So I put all the food in the kitchen and I came in and he said, 'I know that God brought you into my life and I don't want to spend one moment of it without you.'"
"And he got down on one knee and he opened the ring box and he said, 'Will you marry me and spend the rest of our lives together?'" she continued. "Who can say no to that? It was wonderful."
ET has reached out to Chapman's rep for comment.
Chapman's fifth wife, Beth, died in June 2019 after a battle with throat cancer. The two were married for 13 years. In September, Chapman told ET that he had no plans to ever marry again.
"They're not really my girlfriends," he said of women he had been photographed with. "I'm not saying I'm not gonna have one, 'cause I will, [but] I'm not gonna get married."
He said that he and Beth discussed him moving on romantically, and she told him to never take her name off his chest or tie the knot with someone else. "There will never be another Mrs. Dog," he said at time, adding that he wasn't sure how long it would be before he pursued a serious relationship.
"Each religion, as I look to God for answers, has a different answer. I am so lonely," he shared.
When ET spoke with Chapman in February, he was still heavily mourning his beloved late wife.
"Oh, I miss her," he said. "Eight months, that's the worst part, it seems like yesterday and they say 'time heals all wounds.' No, it doesn’t."
At the time, he told ET that he wasn't dating anyone, but that it was "almost time" to start looking for a partner.
"I can maybe go out with a girl and eat and date a little, if that's a date?" he mused. "Where, how, do you date today? I've forgotten!"
Chapman also told ET about his kids' reaction to him possibly dating again, especially after his shocking proposal to his longtime assistant, Moon Angell, which he later said was fake.
"Well, the girls are very upset because of other girls I'd be looking at," he said. "Or they may say, 'Dad, they just like you because you are Dog the Bounty Hunter. They don't like you because you are Dwayne or Dad.' The boys are like, 'Dad, you know, if you love them, if you like them, we are for you or whatever you decide.'"
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