‘Dog’s Most Wanted’ Star Duane Chapman Drives Heavy Machinery in Latest Loving Post Shared by Girlfriend Francie Frane

Dog the Bounty Hunter star Duane “Dog” Chapman made an appearance on girlfriend Francie Frane‘s Instagram page Wednesday, working on heavy machinery bounty hunters usually do not use in the field. Chapman and Frane went public with their relationship last month, less than a year after the death of Chapman’s wife Beth Chapman. Beth died in June 2019 after a battle with throat and lung cancer at age 51.

“Let’s see if we can show this bounty hunting tough guy how to run some equipment, like us country folks do!!” Frane, 51, captioned the new photo. She shared the new image after taking the relationship Instagram official on April 11, when she published a photo of the two together. “So excited for this new chapter,” she wrote.

While the couple only recently wrote about the relationship on Instagram, the Dog’s Most Wanted star’s daughter Lyssa Chapman revealed to The U.S. Sun on March 22 that her father was in a new serious relationship. Lyssa, known as “Baby Lyssa” on Dog the Bounty Hunter, said Chapman is “head over heels” for France and “couldn’t be happier” for him. Frane and Chapman met after Chapman contacted her about hiring Frane’s husband to do yard work at his Colorado home, only to have Frane tell him her husband died several months before.

The two connected over the loss of a spouse and continued talking on the phone. They had been dating for “a few months” at the time the relationship went public. “Francie has been very respectful to all the kids – and to Beth’s memory – and my dad is the same way with Bob and their children,” Lyssa told The Sun. “They go to church three times a week and dad is trying to give up smoking – she is a good woman for my dad. He’s the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time – he’s so in love and wants to spend the rest of his life with Francie.”

Unlike Chapman’s relationship with Moon Angell, his relationship with Frane is welcomed by both his family and fans. Chapman was romantically linked to Angell, a longtime family friend, but Lyssa openly criticized Angell on social media. In a February Dr. Oz Show episode, Chapman proposed to Angell to show their relationship was strictly platonic. Chapman later insisted the scene was not planned, and he really did not know she would decline the proposal as he hoped she would.

Chapman’s new relationship still has some doubters. When he posted the photo of himself with construction equipment on his own Instagram page, one fan asked Chapman if he was “digging a hole for the fakers and haters.” Chapman responded with a grinning emoji.

“Live Your Life Dog!!! Haters Gonna Hate,” one fan wrote. Another chimed in, “Glad to see you are happy. Your [girlfriend] is so beautiful. Be Safe.”