Duane «Dog The Bounty Hunter» Chapman: his five marriages and new wife
21 july 2025 в 16:37
Wayne «Dog the Bounty Hunter» Chapman married his current wife, Francie Frane, in 2021, and they remain married to this day. Duane and Francie got engaged in May 2020, which happened 10 months after the death of Duane’s late wife, Beth Chapman, from throat cancer. After Beth’s death, Duane found solace in the company of Francie, who had also experienced the loss of her husband.
Duane had 13 children, 11 of whom come from his marriages with Beth and four other women before that, all of which ended in divorce. Hollywood Life has gathered everything you need to know about Duane’s five marriages, as well as his romance with Francie. Learn more about Dog the Bounty Hunter’s ex-wives and his current marriage below.
Duane’s first marriage was to La Fonda Sue Honeycutt. The couple got married in Texas on April 1, 1972, when Duane was 19 and La Fonda was 20. Their marriage lasted until October 27, 1977, when La Fonda filed for divorce after Duane was sentenced to five years in prison in Texas for first-degree murder. During their marriage, Duane and La Fonda welcomed two sons: Duane Lee Chapman Jr. and Leland Blaine Chapman, who lived with their father after his release from prison and later appeared on the show «Dog the Bounty Hunter».
Shortly before Duane was released on bail after two years in prison, he married Anne Tegnell. The wedding took place on August 22, 1979 in Colorado. Duane and Anne welcomed their first child, son Zebediah Chapman, on January 1, 1980, but he passed away almost a month later. They had a second child, Wesley Chapman, but they divorced after that. However, Duane and Anne eventually reunited to have a third child, son James Chapman.
In 1982, Duane married Lyssa Rae Brittain. Duane and Lyssa met in a bar just a few days before the wedding. In his 2007 autobiography «You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide», - Duane reportedly claimed that he offered Lyssa $ 1,000 for a child. She agreed, and during their nine-year marriage, they had three children: daughter Barbara Katie Chapman, who died at the age of 23 in a car accident in 2006, son Tucker Dee Chapman, and daughter Lyssa Rae Chapman. Lyssa Rae appeared in six seasons of her father’s reality show on A&E.
Duane’s fourth marriage was to Tawny Marie. The couple reportedly met in 1988 when Duane arrested her on drug possession charges, and later she was hired as his secretary. They became husband and wife in 1992, but divorced in 1994 and officially divorced eight years later. Duane and Tawny did not have children together, and the famous bounty hunter reportedly said in his autobiography that the marriage «was a disaster from the start».
Duane’s most famous marriage was to Beth Smith. They dated for almost ten years before finally getting married on May 20, 2006 in Hawaii. Beth explained how they met in a 2011 interview with Rosie O’Donnell on the «Rosie Show». «I was in jail and… I called him for bail», - she told the comedian. «He came out and paid my bail, but sent it by bus. So I spent another 12 hours in jail». Duane and Beth had a happy marriage that brought two children: Bonnie Joanne Chapman and Garry Chapman. In addition, Duane became a stepfather to Beth’s daughter, Cecily Barmore-Chapman, whom she shared with her ex-husband.
Unfortunately, Beth passed away on June 26, 2019 at the age of 51 after a two-year battle with stage two throat cancer. Since then, Duane continues to honor the memory of his late wife on bitter dates. In May 2020, Duane marked what would have been the couple’s 14th wedding anniversary with a heartfelt tribute he posted on Instagram. «She said, 'Big daddy, you will be so sad when I am not there for our next anniversary.' Why did she have to be so right?» Duane wrote in the post, which featured a photo of the couple embracing each other
Duane had 13 children, 11 of whom come from his marriages with Beth and four other women before that, all of which ended in divorce. Hollywood Life has gathered everything you need to know about Duane’s five marriages, as well as his romance with Francie. Learn more about Dog the Bounty Hunter’s ex-wives and his current marriage below.
Duane’s first marriage was to La Fonda Sue Honeycutt. The couple got married in Texas on April 1, 1972, when Duane was 19 and La Fonda was 20. Their marriage lasted until October 27, 1977, when La Fonda filed for divorce after Duane was sentenced to five years in prison in Texas for first-degree murder. During their marriage, Duane and La Fonda welcomed two sons: Duane Lee Chapman Jr. and Leland Blaine Chapman, who lived with their father after his release from prison and later appeared on the show «Dog the Bounty Hunter».
Shortly before Duane was released on bail after two years in prison, he married Anne Tegnell. The wedding took place on August 22, 1979 in Colorado. Duane and Anne welcomed their first child, son Zebediah Chapman, on January 1, 1980, but he passed away almost a month later. They had a second child, Wesley Chapman, but they divorced after that. However, Duane and Anne eventually reunited to have a third child, son James Chapman.
In 1982, Duane married Lyssa Rae Brittain. Duane and Lyssa met in a bar just a few days before the wedding. In his 2007 autobiography «You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide», - Duane reportedly claimed that he offered Lyssa $ 1,000 for a child. She agreed, and during their nine-year marriage, they had three children: daughter Barbara Katie Chapman, who died at the age of 23 in a car accident in 2006, son Tucker Dee Chapman, and daughter Lyssa Rae Chapman. Lyssa Rae appeared in six seasons of her father’s reality show on A&E.
Duane’s fourth marriage was to Tawny Marie. The couple reportedly met in 1988 when Duane arrested her on drug possession charges, and later she was hired as his secretary. They became husband and wife in 1992, but divorced in 1994 and officially divorced eight years later. Duane and Tawny did not have children together, and the famous bounty hunter reportedly said in his autobiography that the marriage «was a disaster from the start».
Duane’s most famous marriage was to Beth Smith. They dated for almost ten years before finally getting married on May 20, 2006 in Hawaii. Beth explained how they met in a 2011 interview with Rosie O’Donnell on the «Rosie Show». «I was in jail and… I called him for bail», - she told the comedian. «He came out and paid my bail, but sent it by bus. So I spent another 12 hours in jail». Duane and Beth had a happy marriage that brought two children: Bonnie Joanne Chapman and Garry Chapman. In addition, Duane became a stepfather to Beth’s daughter, Cecily Barmore-Chapman, whom she shared with her ex-husband.
Unfortunately, Beth passed away on June 26, 2019 at the age of 51 after a two-year battle with stage two throat cancer. Since then, Duane continues to honor the memory of his late wife on bitter dates. In May 2020, Duane marked what would have been the couple’s 14th wedding anniversary with a heartfelt tribute he posted on Instagram. «She said, 'Big daddy, you will be so sad when I am not there for our next anniversary.' Why did she have to be so right?» Duane wrote in the post, which featured a photo of the couple embracing each other
© Kolganov Andrey
