Duane 'Dog' Chapman Says He Should Have Died Before Late Wife Beth

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman says he apologized to his children for not dying before wife Beth Chapman. The reality television personality recently opened up about how he and his children have been dealing with the matriarch's passing at the age of 51 following a battle with throat and lung cancer.

Along with Chapman, Beth is survived by kids Dominic, 34, Cecily, 26, Bonnie, 20, and Gary, 18.

Chapman opened up to PEOPLE earlier this week about how the family is coping two months after Beth's death.

"Each one copes differently, there is a few that really barely making it," Chapman said. "We don't know what to do. We haven't read, we weren't prepared. I lost my mother first, and when my mom passed away, I'm like, 'I wish dad would have died first', you know, because I love my mummy. So I went to them and said, 'I'm so sorry that I didn't die first and mum did.'"

"And they were like, 'Yeah dad, why?' So I was like, 'Oh my God, I know what that feels like, I should've been the one. The guy goes first,'" he added.

Chapman also opened about how the change in dynamics with his kids, with him having total on the role of strict parent in Beth's absence.

"So that's hard for them... And I guess I'm the softy of the group, because I never wanted to punish. I said, 'Your mom is gonna get you if you don't do that.' So now I gotta be the one that does that, and I don't like that and they don't either," he told the outlet.

The Chapman family has been opening up to press about Beth's final days as they prepare for the premiere of new series, Dog's Most Wanted. Bonnie spoke with SurvivorNet about her mother's final moments of consciousness.

"My dad goes over and over and over what happened because he can't get it out of his head," Bonnie said in mid-August. "She quite literally choked on her cancer."

"My mom was naked in the bathroom and told my dad to look at her," she continued. "And he goes, 'I am looking at you.' And she goes, 'No, look at me.' And then she was standing there and she started gasping."

"And my sister came into the room, and they called 911 immediately," Bonnie added "And that was the last moment that we really saw her completely conscious."

Dog's Most Wanted is set to chronicle Beth's final months as she and Dog track down some of the country's most sought-after criminals. The series will premiere Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on WGN America.