Who Is Dog the Bounty Hunter's Wife? All About Francie Frane
Francie Frane and Dog the Bounty Hunter got engaged in 2020 and married in 2021
Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman has found love once again.
The reality TV star married Francie Frane in September 2021. PEOPLE confirmed their engagement in May 2020, 10 months after the death of his longtime wife, Beth Chapman, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2017.
In August 2019, Chapman shared an intimate conversation he had with Beth before she died about the possibility of him pursuing a future relationship.
"I probably will [date again], and I told her that," Chapman told PEOPLE Now in August 2019. "What deal we said is I will never take 'Beth' off my chest, I have her name [tattooed] here. And I will never get married. And she said to me, 'We are human, OK?' 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, so she did say that to me."
The Dog's Most Wanted star also opened up about losing a longtime partner.
"When your spouse dies ... you're released from that obligation of being married," he told PEOPLE in October 2019. "So your mind and you go crazy. And then after a while, you realize that never will no one ever love me as much as she did. And I will probably never love anyone else as much as I loved her."
Eventually, Chapman decided he was ready to have a wife again.
So who is Francie Frane? Here's everything to know about the former rancher who is married to Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman.
She met Chapman through her late husband
Frane and Chapman initially bonded over grieving their spouses. In an Entertainment Tonight interview in 2020, the couple revealed that Frane's husband Bob, who had worked as an excavator, had also died due to cancer in December 2018 — six months before Beth died.
Frane hadn't heard of Dog the Bounty Hunter until a mutual friend suggested they meet. Six months later, Chapman needed some work done and called Bob, not knowing he had died. Frane called him back and the two had an instant connection.
"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,' " she told ET. "She was screaming, 'I told you!' "
Frane agreed to a first date with Chapman if he came with her to church. Chapman said the former rancher "couldn't have been a better pick that God picked" for him, adding that he "knew right away this was love."
They became Instagram official in April 2020, when Frane posted a photo of themselves with the caption, "So excited for this new chapter! ❤️."
She and Chapman helped each other grieve
They were uniquely able to help each other grieve and move on.
"We understood the pain that the other one was feeling and [in] those tough days and moments, we helped each other stand up," Frane told ET. "We could cry with each other and talk about what we were feeling. ... It brought us together in this amazing way."
Even as they fell in love, Frane and Chapman worked hard to keep the memory of their late spouses alive, including honoring the dates of their deaths. Chapman shared that Beth loved going tubing on the Platte River on Father's Day, so in 2020 he took Frane and his children to visit that river on the first anniversary of Beth's death.
"We honor those dates and we don't feel guilty, but it's kind of strange," Chapman told the outlet. "But we're in love and I say all the time, 'Beth, I'm glad you provided me with Francie because that wasn't on my list.' "
Frane added that Beth and Bob will never be forgotten.
"We're both still grieving. We're never going to leave Bob and Beth behind [or] forget about them. They'll always be a part of us," she added.
In March 2020, Chapman said it was a "miracle" that he met Frane.
"I know that when I start to feel bad about Beth and it's overwhelming, Francie seems to show up and that helps the kids," he said. "And I feel that Beth expects her to show up to take care of me. And Bob, Francie's late husband, expects me to be a man and a gentleman and so I am."
He added: "It's a very real love that we are developing with each other. Both of us are allowed to talk about our spouses that are in Heaven — it's not like we're afraid to mention it or anything like that. … There will never be another Mrs. Dog, but it looks like there will be a final Mrs. Chapman."
She and Chapman got engaged in May 2020
Frane and Chapman got engaged in May 2020, 10 months after Beth died.
"They're very happy and looking forward to a long life together," a rep for Chapman told PEOPLE.
The reality star told PEOPLE that Beth would approve of his new relationship.
"I need a partner," Chapman said. "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.' "
He continued: "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.' "
She married Chapman in 2021
Frane became Mrs. Chapman on Sept. 2, 2021, in Colorado.
The wedding came amid a public disagreement between Chapman and his daughter Bonnie. After Bonnie alleged that she and Cecily were not invited due to their support of Black Lives Matter, Chapman released a statement.
"Despite the sadness we feel at this rift in our family, Francie and I are looking forward to celebrating our wedding next week with the rest of our family and close friends," he told PEOPLE.
She had a difficult past that led to faith
In a March 2021 appearance on Past to Power with Amy Elaine & Latan, Frane opened up about her difficult past and her faith.
"The Lord chased me down and knocked me down later in my life," she said. Frane shared that she was a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and that she had repressed the memory until she was much older, but her faith helped her heal. "When the Lord chased me down, I had never experienced a love like his in my life, and I ran to him with arms open. … I really struggled the first 10 years of my walk because I've been in several abusive marriages also and I was broken inside. I was wounded and broken and hurting."
She also spoke about her late husband Bob, saying, "God really used him to show me what love really is."
Frane often references her faith on Instagram. In May 2022, she shared a picture with Chapman and wrote: "When we're willing to give GOD our hearts in the midst of our greatest tragedy, the outcome is LOVE & HAPPINESS ❤️ Trust HIM in the middle of wherever You are right now . HE won't let You down 🙌."
She joins Chapman at conventions and conferences
The former rancher seems to be living the country life behind, following Chapman all over the country to appear with him at conventions and conferences. She often posts about these appearances on Instagram.
At Geek'd Con 2022 in Shreveport, La., she and Chapman met actor Matthew Lillard. At another, Frane posted about "embarrassing" their grandson by "smooching at Comic Con."
She has gone bounty hunting with Chapman
Frane has embraced Chapman's lifestyle — she has even gone bounty hunting with him.
In a September 2020 interview with Dr. Oz, Chapman said that Frane was a "natural" at bounty hunting. "I know she's a hunter. Her and her two sons have hunted bow hunt, so they track, they look for things that the prey leaves behind," he said. "She just fit right in. She started getting leads and writing them down, so there's more than just tracking and hunting."
He added, "And she's really, really good at that."
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