Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Daughter Sounds Off on His Engagement

Dog the Bounty Hunter is engaged.

The TV star, whose real name is Duane Chapman, proposed to Francie Frane, his rep confirmed to E! News on Monday.

“They’re very happy and looking forward to a long life together,” the spokesperson said.

While an exact date for the nuptials hasn’t been revealed, Dog told The Sun, which broke the news, he hopes to have “the biggest wedding there’s ever been.”

So, how did the 67-year-old celebrity pop the question? Francie told the publication she went out to pick up some food and returned home to a house filled with candles. She then claimed Dog told her he needed to talk to her.

“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,'” she told The Sun, later adding, “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?'”

Of course, Francie said yes.

The major milestone came three months after Dog sparked engagement rumors with Moon Angell, which were revealed to be false. It also came 10 months after his wife, Beth Chapman, passed away. Beth died in June 2019 after her battle with cancer.

After the engagement news spread, Dog’s daughter Bonnie Chapman took to social media to address fans’ reactions. While she noted she’s “very thankful for those who are supportive,” she also asked “those who want to criticize” to “please just let my father live in peace.”

“Let him be happy, please for the love of God let him be,” she wrote in the comments section of one of Dog’s posts. “My father has gone through so much this past year without my mother. It’s been extremely difficult to see one parent pass, and the other so intent on following. My father deserves to be happy. He’s still got my mother’s name on his chest. He’ll never forget her and the love she gave him. She would be happy my father is in love and finding peace.” 

She then asked critics to “please keep your comments to yourself.” 

“And if you can’t, then it reflects more on you than him,” Bonnie added. “Life has never been easy for my dad, but love is something that comes naturally to him.”

Bonnie called Francie a “wonderful woman.” While she said “no one can replace” her mother, she acknowledged “it’s okay to let new people in.”

“Life is filled with so much sorrow and hurt, in times like this is when love is found unexpected,” she added. “For those who claim to know my mother’s wishes: please remember that we as a family went through every excruciating and painful detail of what was next. I had this talk with her, my mother had so much love for my father, she would never want him to be alone. My mom wanted him to be happy no matter what. There is always going to be one and only one Mrs. Dog. Welcome to the pack, Francie.”

After a commenter alleged “Beth’s one wish was that [Dog] would not remarry,” Bonnie set the record straight.

“This is something we all talked about, her feelings changed as her condition worsened,” she wrote in reply. “We all thought she’d have more time, she put her full faith in God, but her time with us wasn’t as long as we expected. My mother wanted my dad to be happy at all costs. There will never be another Mrs. Dog, but there can be a Mrs. Chapman.”

When asked how she felt about the news, Bonnie weighed in on this, too.

“Of course. I miss her [every day], but I know that she sent Francie,” she wrote. “She’s a blessing and is helping my dad heal day by day.”