Duane “Dog” Chapman shared a Mother’s Day tribute to his late wife, Beth Chapman, on Friday, alongside a throwback photo to sunnier times. The picture was posted just a few days after the Dog The Bounty Hunter star and Francie Frane announced their engagement, 10 months after Beth’s death. Chapman has said Beth would support his decision to get married again.
“Last Mother’s Day!! Love you miss you Beth,” Chapman wrote in the caption. Within the first half-hour since posting the photo, the image earned more than 8,000 likes from fans and hundreds of comments, many sharing positive messages. “She’ll always be #1, but it sure does make our hearts happy to see you smiling again. Much love and continuous happiness in all you do,” one fan wrote. Another chimed in, “She was good life partner God blessed you with a good one and looks like he blessed you again. God bless her. Best of luck to you she is smiling in heaven.”
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Last week, Chapman and Frane announced their engagement in a new interview with The Sun. The couple has reportedly been dating for a few months, but only went public with their relationship last month after his daughter, Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman endorsed it in another Sun interview.
Chapman said the two were living together during the coronavirus pandemic. He hopes they can have a big wedding in the future, but that has to be put on hold for the time being. “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,” he told The Sun. “It would be one hell of a party and it’s just what people need right now. I told Francie, people they need a little love after being locked down. I love the idea of that.”
Chapman and Frane met after Chapman called her to hire her husband for yard work. Sadly, Frane’s husband died last year, but the two bonded over their shared losses. This week, Chapman told TMZ Frane helped him “man up” while grieving Beth’s death in June 2019.
Some Dog fans have criticized Chapman for getting engaged so soon after Beth’s death, but he argues she would have supported his decision. He told PEOPLE he needs a partner and assured fans there will never be another “Mrs. Dog.”
“You’ll never forget the spouse,” Chapman told the magazine. “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.”
