Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman is engaged less than one year after his wife Beth Chapman passed away.
The reality TV star is set to tie the knot with Francie Frane, his rep confirmed.
His rep added that the couple is “very happy and looking forward to a long life together.”
Beth died in June 2019 at the age of 51 after being diagnosed with throat cancer.
Chapman and Frane revealed the details of their engagement to the Sun, and they said it took place at their home in Colorado.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Frane said. “I think I had gone to pick up some food and then when I came back, he had all the lights turned down with just a few lights on and a bunch of candles lit.
“So when I came in I was like, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ Then he said, ‘Come in, sit down because I need to talk to you.’ So I put all the food in the kitchen and I came in, and he said, ‘I know that God brought you into my life and I don’t want to spend one moment of it without you.’”
Chapman then asked if she would marry him, and Frane said yes.
The couple also said they want to wait until the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus is over to celebrate their engagement.
Chapman, 67, said he’s open to the idea of a televised wedding.
“I’ve had so many fans ask ‘When you marry Francie, are you going to let your fans come?’” he said. “So we’re negotiating right now because I want to open it up.
“I would love to have the biggest wedding there’s ever been. I’m sorry, but that’s just me. I hope I can talk Francie into it and open it to my fans, the ‘Dog Pound,’ to everybody,” he said. “It would be one hell of a party and it’s just what people need right now. I told Francie, people, they need a little love after being locked down. I love the idea of that.”
Chapman posted a picture of Frane on Instagram on April 24 and captioned the post: “I scream & Cry Beth where are you why did you leave me then I look up & see you Francie & the pain turns to a smile I LOVE YOU WOMAN !!”
This will be Chapman’s sixth marriage. The Dog the Bounty Hunter star was previously married to La Fonda Sue Darnell from 1972 to 1977, Anne M. Tengell from 1979 to 1982, Lyssa Rae Britain from 1982 to 1991, Tawny Marie Chapman from 1991 to 2003 and Beth from 2006 until her death.