Losing a loved one can be a very painful event but it’s important to move on.
Some people can do it easily while others have a harder time with it. Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman is one of the former.
PEOPLE has confirmed that Duane and his girlfriend Francie Frane have gotten engaged.
“They’re very happy and looking forward to a long life together,” a rep for Duane said.
The couple had confirmed they were dating in March and told The Sun US on May 4 that Duane had popped the question while they were having a romantic candlelit dinner at their Colorado home over the weekend.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Frane, a 51-year-old rancher from Colorado, 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,’ ” Frane said. “Then he said, ‘Come in, sit down because I need to talk to you.’ And he got down on one knee and he opened the ring box and he said, ‘Will you marry me and spend the rest of our lives together?'”
The couple added that they’ll be waiting until the coronavirus lockdown has been lifted before tying the knot so that all family members can attend.
“I would love to have the biggest wedding there’s ever been,” Duane, 67, told The Sun. “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.”
“It would be one h*ll of a party and it’s just what people need right now,” the Dog’s Most Wanted star added.
Duane took to Instagram last week to profess his love for Frane. He said that since losing his wife, Beth Chapman, in June 2019 that Frane has managed to put a smile back on his face.
“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 !!” Duane captioned a solo pic of Frane.
While Duane has been gushing about Frane, some of his fans have been critical of the relationship. But one of Duane’s daughters went in and defended him last month.
“Everyone who’s judging my father should sure pray that they never have to lose their loved one and get judged for trying to fill the void,” wrote Bonnie Chapman, 21. “Your opinion is invalid. My mother would’ve wanted him to be happy. Now please shut up and let me my dad live in peace.”
Beth was diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in 2017 and passed away last June aged 51.
Duane said in an interview with The Sun US in March that he and Frane both share the grief of losing a spouse to cancer and this helped them bond. Frane’s late husband Bob passed away just months before Beth’s death.
“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,” Duane 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.”
Answering the question of whether or not he would marry Frane, Duane said, “There will never be another Mrs. Dog but it looks like there will be a final Mrs. Chapman.”
Replaced!