How Soon Did Dog The Bounty Hunter Meet Francie Frane After Beth's Death?
Duane Chapman — better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter — gained fame and fortune from his eponymous show and his remarkable talent for apprehending fugitives. On his hit reality show, fans met his wife, Beth Chapman, who helped her husband apprehend bond violators. Toward the end of her life, Beth and Dog documented much of her battle with throat cancer. Sadly, Beth died from cancer in 2019. "It's 5:32 in Hawaii; this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain," Dog tweeted. "Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side."
In an interview with People, Duane said that he would not get married again after Beth died, though he didn't rule out a relationship. "I probably will do that, and I told her that. What deal we said is I will never take 'Beth' off my chest; I have her name here. And I will never get married," he told the outlet. "And probably the same thing I'd say to her: 'I know you're gonna have a boyfriend, I hope you have 10, but don't go fricking marry one, and say those words. Don't you dare do that.' I would say that, and she did say that to me," the reality star added.
But, things seemed to change after Duane met his sixth wife, Francie Frane.
Duane Chapman met Francie Fran six months after Beth Chapman's death
Duane Chapman didn't take long to find love after Beth Chapman died. According to ET, Duane met his sixth wife, Francie Frane, thanks to Francie's late husband, Bob Frane. Duane contacted Bob — who worked as an excavator — to perform some work at his home in Colorado. However, Francie had to inform Duane that Bob died mere months before Beth. Their spouses' deaths helped the two form a close bond, and not too long after speaking with one another; they struck up a friendship, and a romance followed soon after. "As soon as I hung up the phone, I called my girlfriend and was like, 'Are you sitting down right now because you're not going to believe who I just talked to,'" Francie told the outlet. "She was screaming, 'I told you!'"
Duane asked Francie out, and she agreed to meet him if he attended church with her. The duo developed a deep bond relatively swiftly, fueled by their shared experiences of grief. "We understood the pain that the other one was feeling, and [in] those tough days and moments, we helped each other stand up. We could cry with each other and talk about what we were feeling," Francie shared. "We could walk alongside each other through the pain and heartbreak, which brought us together in this amazing way."
While the two hit it off and eventually married, they still carried the memories of the loved ones they lost.
Duane Chapman gushes over new wife
Duane Chapman is in love! The reality star regularly shares social media posts dedicated to his wife, Francie Frane, and in September 2021, the star shared a post to Instagram featuring his blushing bride as he informed fans that the "knot is tied." Chapman posted a photo from their wedding as he celebrated their first anniversary the following year. "One trip around the sun with my lovely bride! Francie, happy 1st anniversary!" the bounty hunter captioned a sweet shot. "Thank you for giving me a chance to love you unconditionally." In a subsequent post, Chapman shared a collage of photos from their wedding day and called it one of the "best days" of his life. Chapman also finds plenty of other occasions to shower Frane with love, including on her birthday.
Frane also makes sure to return the favor on her Instagram page. Since she and Chapman wed, she's become pretty popular in her own right, amassing a following of over 47,000. She has shared numerous images from her life, including tributes to Chapman. "This Is My Man: From ExCon To Icon, The Man The Myth The Legend Dog The Bounty Hunter !! I Am Madly In Love With You," she wrote in March alongside a solo shot of Chapman. Frane also shared another "just because" post in January. "My Amazing Husband Your Smile Lights Up My Life," Frane wrote alongside a photo of herself and Chapman. Adorbs!