MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / CELEBRITY

Dog the Bounty Hunter shares how wife Beth Chapman prepared him to live without her: "She knew..."

Duane opened up about how Beth prepared him for a life without her, her final words, and the enduring void she left behind.

The loss of a loved one is an unimaginable pain and for Duane Chapman aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, the passing of his beloved wife, Beth Chapman, was a shocking chapter that he continues to navigate. Beth, a formidable partner in both life and bounty hunting, passed away on June 26, 2019, at the age of 51 after a courageous battle with cancer. In an emotional interview, Duane once opened up about how Beth prepared him for a life without her, her final words, and the enduring void she left behind. Beth’s strength during her illness was remarkable. Diagnosed with Stage 2 throat cancer in 2017, she faced her battle head-on, and even as her health deteriorated, she remained focused on preparing Duane for the inevitable. Duane remarked, “All my supervisors said, 'Dog, it's time to man up.' So I'm trying to man up."

Duane shared, "For two to three years, she knew this might happen. So she would say, 'Who is going to sit next to you?' And I said, 'No one,' 'Big Daddy, you better not let another girl take my place.' I said, 'I won't.'" Though Duane tried to cope with her absence, he failed and exclaimed, "There is not another Beth. There'll never be another Beth.” Beth’s last moments were as poignant as her life was bold. In a series of melancholic memories, Duane recalled a deeply personal exchange during her final hours, as reported by ET.

As per ABC News, he recalled, "The last few moments she said, 'Look at me, Duane Chapman.' And I did, I always saw Beth and she said, 'Please, let me go.'" While Duane resisted, hoping to keep her by his side, Beth’s resolve was clear. Duane remarked, "And I didn't even make a decision, I almost said, 'I can't.'" Back then, Duane shared how Beth’s absence was a daily struggle for him. He remarked, "So, prepared? No, you're never, ever prepared. You can't prepare."

Fast forward to the present, Beth’s spirit remains a guiding force. Duane fondly remembered her as a fighter, even in her most vulnerable moments. Duane recalled, "I needed therapy and the therapy she used when she was sick was to hunt. Her therapy, you know, was hunting, bounty hunting, catching the bad guy…Even though she is not physically there, mentally and spiritually she is there."

However, her enduring wisdom continues to guide him as he explores his life without her. In the wake of her passing, Duane summed up his love and grief and wrote, "Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side." Fast forward to the present, Duane is happily married to Francie Frane. He and Frane were in the same boat of emotions when they first interacted. They have experienced the feeling of losing a loved one and living in a void. They bonded over their trauma and now are living happily ever after.