Details Revealed About Dog The Bounty Hunter's 6 Marriages

When the reality TV show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" premiered back in 2003, viewers were instantly hooked. Sure, watching criminals who skipped out on their bail get captured made for great television, but it was more than that. Duane "Dog" Chapman was totally unique, with a backstory that was interesting and unusual for a public figure. Dog and his many children (13 to be exact) soon found their way to stardom. Throughout most of his TV career, we knew Dog as a faithful husband to his straight-talking but loving wife Beth Chapman, but Beth wasn't Dog's first wife — not by a long shot. 

By his own admission, Dog's past is checkered. He spent time in prison as a young man after he was connected to the murder of a man in Pampa, Texas. He also had problems with substance misuse, and many of his marriages ended in disaster because they were so volatile. At the time of writing, Dog has been married six times, making him notorious in love. Thankfully, Dog seems to have calmed down a lot as he's gotten older, but his romantic history is still a source of great intrigue, purely because of how messy it is. From a marriage that led to the tragic premature death of a son to the heartbreaking loss that changed him forever, let's dig into the details surrounding Dog's marriages. 

Duane "Dog" Chapman may be an old hand at marriages these days, but back in the '70s, he was a brand new husband. He married his first wife, La Fonda Sue Darnell, in 1972. Their union wasn't destined for longevity and lasted only five years, with the pair divorcing in 1977. It wasn't totally fruitless, though, as they welcomed two sons together: Duane Lee Chapman II and Leland Blane Chapman, who went on to work with their dad's bail bond business. The pair were a prominent part of "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and firm fan favorites, developing their own following. Dog has never gone into much detail about his time with his sons' mother, but it was likely put under extreme pressure due to his criminal conviction. 

In 1976, Dog was convicted of murder after his friend killed a man with a shotgun he had supplied. Even though he only served 18 months of the five-year sentence, the separation was enough for Darnell to divorce her spouse. Interestingly, she wound up marrying Dog's best friend at the time. While it must have been a bitter pill for Dog to swallow, he didn't let it stop him from looking for love further down the line. Darnell has lived a life out of the spotlight despite her ex's fame. 

Dog the Bounty Hunter's transformation has been a sight to behold over the years. The kind, calm, and collected bail bondsman we see on our screens is miles away from the chaotic youngster he once was. We know that Duane "Dog" Chapman and his first wife, La Fonda Sue Darnell, welcomed two sons, but Leland Chapman and Duane Lee Chapman II aren't the only kids Dog fathered during that period. Unbeknownst to Dog, his ex-girlfriend, Debbie White, gave birth to his first son, Christopher Michael Hecht, in 1972, the same year he married Darnell. 

White allegedly kept the pregnancy a secret from the future reality TV star. According to Hecht's adoptive mother, Gloria Hecht, Dog didn't get in touch with his son until he was 19 years old. "[Dog] contacted me and said who he was and I was like, 'No you're not. Go away and leave us alone.' But he begged," she told The UK Sun in 2021. Since it took years for Dog to connect with his son, it's likely that Darnell didn't know about her husband's situation at the time, either. Their union was complex, and given Dog's tumultuous early years and brushes with crime, perhaps it's not surprising that this situation emerged. Unfortunately, Dog's relationship with his son hasn't been easy to navigate, either. Gloria Hecht also told The UK Sun that the star abandoned him. 

The death of Zebediah Chapman is one of the most tragic details about Dog the Bounty Hunter's kids. After Duane "Dog" Chapman did his time in prison in the '70s and divorced his first wife, La Fonda Sue Darnell, he went on to marry Anne Tegnell. Even though it was a short union (they married in 1979 and divorced in 1982) Dog and Tegnell were busy. They welcomed three sons together: Wesley Chapman, Robert Chapman, and their firstborn son, Zebediah Chapman. While Wesley and Robert grew up to be healthy, Zebediah tragically died just a few short weeks after he was born in 1980. 

A relative of Dog, Jolene Chapman, wrote a lengthy tribute to Zebediah on Find a Grave, explaining that Zebediah was born prematurely. "Everyone cheered Zeb on. Everyone prayed," she wrote. "Everyone believed. He lived far beyond what medical science said he would." The website details that Zebediah was buried in a special grave for babies, which remains unmarked. Dog hasn't publicly spoken about the death of Zebediah, and Tegnell, like many of Dog's exes, has preferred to stay out of the spotlight in the wake of her ex-husband's fame.

As one of the stars of "Dog the Bounty Hunter," "Baby" Lyssa Chapman is one of the most recognizable Chapman kids. She frequently starred on her dad's show and has been vocal about her difficult upbringing, thanks in part to her once-strained relationship with her dad and her mother, Dog's third wife, Lyssa Rae Brittain. Dog waited two years after splitting from his second wife, Anne Tegnell, before he walked down the aisle again, marrying Brittain in 1982. They stayed married for 9 years, a significant stretch in Dog's romantic life. Though many people may think Lyssa is Dog's only child from that union, it's not the case. Together, they welcomed "Baby" Lyssa, Barbara Katie Chapman, and Tucker Dee Chapman, but it was far from marital bliss. 

Talking to Fox News in 2013, "Baby" Lyssa explained that when he parents split, she falsely accused Dog of abusing her. Her mother was quick to side with her daughter. "I feel like my mom had a lot of hurt feelings about my Dad too," she explained. If it were her dealing with the situation, "Baby" Lyssa said she would've handled things differently. "I would have cracked absolutely but I think she wanted very badly to believe it because she had so many hard feelings towards my father," she revealed. She also confirmed that post-split, her dad was living with Beth but the two were struggling with substance misuse. 

When Duane "Dog" Chapman released his autobiography, "You Can Run But You Can't Hide." in 2017, he gave us a little insight into some of his ill-fated relationships. This included his fourth marriage to Tawny Marie Chapman. The way they got together is enough to ring alarm bells in any sane person's mind, but perhaps Dog was wearing rose-tinted glasses. The pair met when Dog arrested her for drug possession and he later gave her a job as his secretary. In his book, Dog admitted that he married Tawny Marie in 1992 even though he knew it wasn't the right thing to do. "It was a disaster from the start," he said, via E! News. 

According to Dog, Tawny Marie was struggling with substance misuse. Needless to say, this marriage also ended up on the scrap heap, as they separated just two years later before officially divorcing in 2002. Dog and Tawny Marie didn't have any children together, so there weren't any young hearts to console this time around. 

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Even though Beth Chapman was Duane "Dog" Chapman's fifth wife, they had been involved for decades before they finally said their vows in 2002. Dog and Beth first met when she was arrested as a teenager in 1988. Dog posted her bond and the attraction was instantaneous. Unfortunately for Beth, Dog was married to Lyssa Rae Brittain at the time, but Beth's interest in her future husband never waned. Her attraction to him continued when she was thrown in jail for another offense, when Dog married yet another woman, and even when Beth married someone herself. "I was the other woman through three wives," Beth told Rosie O'Donnell during an interview (via YouTube). "Two wives, one really good girlfriend." 

When they finally got together officially, it wasn't long before they married — though this too was marred in tragedy. Just a day before Dog and Chapman got married, Dog's daughter, Barbara, whom he shared with Lyssa Rae Brittain, died in a car accident. Beth delivered the painful news to her groom on the morning of the wedding. Though many people may opt to call off such a big event in the wake of devastating news, after a long conversation with the family's pastor and Barbara's sister, Lyssa, the couple decided to go through with the ceremony at the Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii.

It's no secret that Dog the Bounty Hunter's arrest record is a little colorful, but when he married Beth Chapman and found steady fame on TV, Duane "Dog" Chapman calmed down significantly. By the time he moved in with Beth, he was in the throws of a substance misuse struggle. Dog explained in his autobiography that it was Beth who helped him get back on his feet. "If Beth hadn't saved me, I'm not sure I would have survived those years," he wrote, via E! News. When he was sober, he resumed bounty hunting and gained a lot of publicity when he captured Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, who went on the run after appearing in court charged with (and later convicted of) several counts of sexual assault. With Beth by his side, Dog's star quickly rose. 

Before long, he had the green light for his very own show. "Dog the Bounty Hunter" saw Dog, Beth, and other members of the Chapman family round up criminals who had skipped out on bail, often dishing out tough love and advice in the process. The show wrapped in 2012 after almost a decade, with the husband and wife duo at the helm. They also appeared in other shows, like "Dog and Beth: On the Hunt", "Dog's Most Wanted" and the TV special "Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives." 

Duane "Dog" Chapman and Beth Chapman's love story was forged in fire. It took them a long time to finally get together, but when they did, there was no separating them. Sadly, their time together ended much sooner than either of them expected. In 2017, Beth revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer. In a candid letter she wrote to friends and family, she said (via Us Weekly), "After months of a nagging cough, a routine checkup resulted in a diagnosis of stage II throat cancer." Despite her illness, Beth was determined to get better. Speaking to Inside Edition at the time of his wife's diagnosis, Dog said through tears, "I told the doctor, 'If she dies, you die.' I said, 'I don't mean to be like that, I don't mean to threaten you, 'cus I'm a good person, but doc, if she dies, you die.'" 

There was some hope when surgery was successful in 2017, but the cancer returned the following year. The couple even documented Beth's journey with a TV special, "Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives." Sadly, Beth died in 2019 aged just 51. Dog announced the news on X, formerly Twitter, in a short statement that read, "It's 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain. Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side." 

In 2021, it was time to meet Dog the Bounty Hunter's wife, Francie Frane. Considering just how devastated Duane "Dog" Chapman was after the death of his fifth wife, Beth Chapman, fans were surprised that he was moving on so quickly. In fact, falling in love wasn't on Dog's to-do list, either. In September 2020, Dog and Frane sat down with Entertainment Tonight to talk about how they found each other and bonded over their shared losses. Dog called Frane's number, hoping to reach her husband, Bob, not realizing that he had passed away recently. "This friendship started because we get what the other one was going, is still going, through. We're both still grieving, we're never going to leave Bob and Beth behind," explained Frane. 

The rest was history, with Dog and Frane marrying in 2021. However, Dog the Bounty Hunter's feud with his daughter Bonnie added an element of upset. Beth's daughters weren't invited to the wedding. Speaking to TMZ, the siblings said they had no idea why they weren't on the guest list. Cecily said, "What I am seeing personally, is that my dad is having a hard time dealing with the fact that maybe he's not going to be able to replace my mom, and that maybe me and Bonnie bring out a lot from my mom, and that he sees our mom in us, and I feel like that scares him." Dog and Frane were quick to fire back that they loved the girls, but weren't willing to go into further detail. Regardless, over 100 other guests were present at the pair's nuptials.