Dog and Frane publicly revealed their relationship in March 2020, and PEOPLE confirmed their engagement in May 2020
Credit: Duane Lee Chapman/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman marked his fifth wedding anniversary with Francie Frane, sharing a heartfelt tribute on social media
- The couple bonded over shared grief after losing their previous spouses to cancer before marrying in 2020
- Chapman’s family has faced tragedy, including the accidental death of his grandson in 2025
Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman is celebrating his fifth wedding anniversary with wife Francie Frane.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, the 73-year-old TV personality shared a post to Instagram, five years after after he and Frane, 57, wed in Colorado.
“My Francie, happy fifth anniversary,” Chapman wrote in the caption of his post, alongside a photo of the couple on their wedding day. “You are the sunshine of my life. I never want to be without you. We are more than soulmates. I believe we were destined for each other.”
“The word love doesn’t even feel like enough for what I feel for you. I cherish you. I adore you. And I thank God for you every single day,” he continued.
Credit: Duane Lee Chapman/Instagram
“The Bible says, ‘What God has joined together, let no one separate.’ Matthew 19:6,” the TV star continued, opening up about the couple’s faith. “God brought us together, Francie. Through everything we’ve walked through, you’ve stood beside me and loved me. Thank you for loving me the way you do.
“Happy anniversary, my Francie. I love you more,🤙🏼 ❤️” Chapman finished his post.
Dog and Frane publicly revealed their relationship in March 2020, almost 10 months after his wife Beth Chapman, who was diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in 2017, died at the age of 51. PEOPLE confirmed Dog and Frane’s engagement in May 2020.
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Speaking with Entertainment Tonight in 2020, the couple revealed that Francie’s husband Bob had died due to cancer in December 2018 — six months before Chapman’s wife, Beth, died. The couple shared that they were able to connect over their grief.
“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.”
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.’ ”
Chapman’s family life has been marred by tragedy and controversy over the past several years, particularly following the July 2025 shooting involving Frane’s son and grandson.
On July 19, 2025, the Dog the Bounty Hunter alum’s stepson Gregory Zecca allegedly shot his son, Anthony, 13, at an apartment in Naples, Fla., leading to the teenager’s accidental death. Following the incident, the sheriff confirmed with PEOPLE that same month that the investigation was ongoing. Zecca was ultimately charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child with a firearm and using a firearm while under the influence, per Fox 13.
Dog and Frane told TMZ, through a representative, “We are grieving as a family over this incomprehensible, tragic accident and would ask for continued prayers as we grieve the loss of our beloved grandson, Anthony.”
Dog is a father to 13 children total. He shares son Christopher with Debbie White, sons Duane Lee II and Leeland with ex-wife Fonda Sue Darnell, and sons Wesley, James Robert and the late Zebadiah with ex-wife Anne Tegnell.
He is also a dad to Tucker, Lyssa and the late Barbara with ex-wife Lyssa Rae Brittain, and he shared daughters Bonnie and Cecily and son Garry with late wife Beth.
The reality TV star revealed in 2023 that he recently discovered that he fathered a son named Jon.
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