Watch Duane Chapman’s First Full Interview Since the Passing of Late Wife Beth

Duane “Dog” Chapman is speaking out for the first time in an interview since the passing of his wife Beth Chapman. The Dog the Bounty hunter star held back tears the entire segment as he thought about his late spouse, discussing how big of a role she played in his life personally and professionally.

“In a new experience you have, you don’t know how you’re doing because you’ve never experienced it,” Dog replied in an interview with ET when asked how he was doing. “I have a lot of people that depend on me. All my supervisors said, ‘Dog, it’s time you man up.’ So I’m trying to man up.”

While it’s a heartbreaking loss, the reality TV personality said he and his wife knew this might be the case for the last few years and had time to mentally prepare.

“For two or three years she knew this might happen, so she’d say, ‘Who’s gonna sit next to you?’ and I said, ‘No one.’ [Beth said], ‘Big daddy, you better not let another girl take my place,’ I said, ‘I won’t,’” he mentioned as he chuckled.

The 66-year-old was asked how challenging it was for him to go and shoot for his new series Dog’s Most Wanted without his wife — someone he built his company and image with — but he reassured fans that she may not be there physically, but she is mentally and spiritually.

“We kind of lost him, he got a jump on us right, and it’s daylight, thank you God,” Chapman said while sharing the story of how he was chasing the number one most wanted man on his list. “As we were chasing him one of the girls that [was] there — my bondsman friend’s wife — said, ‘Dog, we’ve lost him.’ And the boys were all this way, my team was that way, and I was this way and I said, ‘[he looks up to the sky] now I need an angeletic drone, and you’re [Beth] up there, don’t you let him get away Bethy.’ And of course, as the story goes within minutes, I heard him yell, ‘I’ve got him! I broke my leg!’ and I thought … ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got somebody watching.’”

The man Chapman was chasing said his brother showed up to the hospital later that day and was shocked the team was able to find him.

“Leland [Chapman’s son] said, ‘All the sudden, he was there,’” Chapman explained. “He’s not a spooky kind of kid, he said, ‘Dad, something was leading me.’”

“Even though physically she’s not there — unless I’m a nut — then mentally and spiritually she’s there,” Dog added.

Beth had been battling with cancer and passed away June 26 at the age of 51 after being put into a medically induced coma.