Francie Frane is coming at fiancé Duane “Dog” Chapman‘s cigarette habit with love. In the Dog the Bounty Hunter star’s appearance Monday on The Dr. Oz Show, previewed on PEOPLE, Frane said it is her mission to get her future husband to quit smoking for good after decades with the habit.
“What do you think is going to be most helpful in getting Dog to let go of his remaining unhealthy habits, his natural tendencies?” host Dr. Mehmet Oz asked. Frane acknowledged that because change is so difficult for most people, especially when it comes to “things we have relied on” for a long time, her “tactic is love and encouragement.”
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“I need him around for the next 20 years at least, so I just keep telling him that,” she continued. “I feel like when people are constantly picking at us, that it makes us do the opposite — [it makes us] want to do it, continue to do it more, because we don’t want to be picked at all the time. It’s reverse psychology, maybe, and loving him out of cigarettes.”
Chapman and Frane announced their engagement in May, less than a year after the death of his wife, Beth Chapman, who passed away in June 2019 due to cancer. Frane experienced a similar loss with the death of husband Bob, who also had cancer, shortly before Beth’s passing, and the engaged couple bonded over their mutual loss before deciding to tie the knot.
Dog has defended his choice to marry again time and time again, telling PEOPLE after announcing his engagement, “I need a partner. 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 continued. “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.”
The two haven’t set a date, Dog told PopCulture last month, but would be keeping the ceremony to just family and close friends, despite Dog’s initial wish to invite all his fans. Frane agreed to having the wedding filmed, however, so the bounty hunter’s fans will be able to celebrate from home.
