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Dog the Bounty Hunter once dropped a bombshell about his abusive father: "I couldn’t even shower..."

Chapman revealed, “My father would spank me so hard with a belt or a piece of board, and he’d pull my pants down..."

Duane Chapman aka Dog the Bounty Hunter once made headlines not for his usual pursuits of fugitives but for a deeply personal revelation. Appearing on ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ Chapman opened up about learning that the man he grew up believing was his father, Wesley, was not biologically related to him. Chapman dropped another bombshell— Wesley physically abused him during his childhood. Chapman shared that he got to know the truth from his younger sister shortly before her death.

He said, “My little sister was a couple of years younger than me and she had a very bad infection. She was a nurse and she knew that she was not going to make it. So just before she passed away, she said, ‘Oh, by the way, I want to tell you that Dad is not your father. He is Paula’s, Mike’s, and mine, but he is not really yours and maybe that’s some of the reason he beat you more.’” The truth brought clarity to years of abuse that Chapman suffered at Wesley’s hands, as reported by Pop Culture. (You can check Duane Chapman's appearance on 'The Dr. Oz Show' here.)

Chapman recalled how his father, a former Navy man, would frequently beat him using belts or boards, often also embarrassing him by pulling down his pants. He shared, “I couldn’t even shower at school because I was so embarrassed about the bruises.” A whole new world opened in front of Chapman. He recalled, “When I found out that he wasn’t my dad, a lot of things that he used to say, [like] ‘I gave you your name,’ ‘I will beat the savage out of you,’...a lot of things started coming full circle.” Despite the abuse and the discovery of his true lineage, Chapman holds no bitterness toward his father.

As per People magazine, he remarked, “Do I want to find my dad? No. Do I have a dad? Yes, and his name is Wesley Chapman.” Chapman reflected on how the harsh upbringing molded him into the person he is today. He shared, “I used to arrest people, I’d say, ‘Why do you do this, man?’ [They would reply,] ‘Well, I don’t know who my dad is, Dog,’ and I used to feel so bad. And I don’t know who my dad is either. But I still love my daddy.”

The revelation comes after a series of personal challenges for Chapman, including losing his wife, Beth Chapman in 2019, and his subsequent engagement and marriage to Francie Frane. He shared, “If there wouldn’t be how he raised me, I wouldn’t be the man I am today. So, I kind of get over those excuses that my people have. ‘Oh, I don’t know my dad, and you don’t understand.’ Yeah, big deal.”