Duane “Dog” Chapman wished his son Leland Chapman a happy birthday by sharing a sweet photo of the father-son duo. Leland, who just turned 44 years old on Dec. 14, has been close with his father for years, even appearing on their family’s reality show Dog the Bounty Hunter. In the picture, the two are sitting side-by-side with Chapman’s hand on his son’s shoulder as the two smile at the camera.
“Happy Birthday my son, love you!!” he captioned the photo. Several fans dropped in the comment section to also wish him a happy birthday as well, with one writing, “Happy Birthday Leland! Many more years to you sir,” while someone else wrote, “Happy birthday to you Leland.” Another fan even noted the two men and their good looks, commenting, “That’s a whole lotta handsome.”
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Leland was introduced to the public early on when Chapman’s show took off. The two have stood together through it all and have won over the hearts of many. Chapman is the father to 13 children, Leland being one of his eldest. The two starred in several episodes with each other, alongside Chapman’s late wife, Beth Chapman, who died in June 2019 after her battle with lung and throat cancer. “It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” Chapman wrote in a tweet when making the official announcement of her passing. “Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.”
While Chapman and their entire family were heartbroken over losing such a beloved family member, they’ve seemingly remained strong throughout the grieving process. The 67-year-old was visibly heartbroken during interviews as he fought back tears talking about losing his beloved wife, but it didn’t take long for him to find a new partner. Months later, Chapman was spotted with a woman named Francie Frane, and the two are now engaged after Chapman popped the question in May.
While some, including some of his family members at the time, felt as if he had moved on too quickly, others were in support. However, it was later noted that the two had gone through something very similar. Frane lost her husband, Bob, a few months before Beth passed away. Bob was supposed to be in contact with Chapman anyway, and later Frane and Chapman put those details together, making it a true love story.
