It’s been a while since “Dog The Bounty Hunter” left TV screens for good, but it hasn’t been enough time to forget about him. Usually known by his nickname “Dog”, Duane Chapman is one of those not-so-rare cases of reality television personalities who rose to fame for dedicating their life to a not-usual occupation.
Nonetheless, while the life of a bounty hunter might not be fitting for everyone and even less ideal, it apparently is quite profitable for those who do their work well. In the case of Dog, his bounty hunting escapades have amassed him a considerable fortune throughout, something he isn’t afraid of showing off by acquiring some properties and other expensiveness.
Stay here to know more about Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman’s financial situation, what happened to his Colorado mansion, his private life and so much more!
Is Dog Selling His Colorado House?
Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye to the things which remind us of better times, but yet it’s something that has to happen sooner or later. This is the case of Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman and his Colorado house, which he owned for over a decade before selling it in December 2022 for $1.6 million.
Although the house was initially $1.69 million back when it was put on the market early that year, the final cut price wasn’t a loss of money for the veteran bounty hunter – back in 2009 he bought the house for $750,000, making the sale an undoubtedly good deal for whoever bought the impressive 9.29 acre property.
As seen on online reports, the six-bedroom mansion’s privileged view of Colorado sunsets, along with its spacious and luxurious interiors are qualities that most people would look for in their dream house. Nonetheless, Duane prefers different things in life nowadays: ‘I love Colorado, it will always be special to me’, he told The New York Post, but to which he revealed moving to Florida searching for warmer weather!
While details about Dog’s new house in the south-east of the US are unknown, his Florida home would surely rival the previous one in looks and price.
How Much Is His Net Worth?
Though it’s sometimes thought that the lives of TV stars are lucrative, that depends a lot on how successful they and their shows might be.
Although those conditions might not positively affect everyone involved in the entertainment industry, for Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman the life of a TV star has fortunately done wonders for his financial situation.
While it’s really not known how much money he had prior to rising to fame in 2003, and subsequently starring in his popular reality show “Dog The Bounty Hunter”, nowadays Duane has accumulated an impressive net worth of over $6 million. All of this is the result of his salary on TV, and the extra income provided by other side deals, added to the thousands of dollars he’s earned from his commissions as a bounty hunter over several career decades.
Knowing all of this, it’s really not surprising that Dog has owned several properties, and lives quite a comfortable life, even in spite of the dangers of his job.
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Debt Lawsuit
Although Duane Chapman’s current money situation is considered healthy, not so long ago he faced some legal troubles which could have potentially affected his financial stability.
As it happens, in 2015 Duane and his now-late wife Beth purchased a stunning Hawaiian house as a secondary home for $2,240,000, tfrom a real estate agent couple named Craig and Mills.Allegedly, Dog and Beth didn’t pay for the house entirely, leading Mills to sue the couple for ‘$109,328.69’ in ‘unpaid monthly payments, and reimbursement for utilities, real property taxes and insurance premiums’, as stated in the court documents from late 2018, posted by The Sun.
Besides the payment of the aforementioned figure, the plaintiff also asked the Chapman’s to leave the property, which they refused to do. Following the unfortunate death of Beth in mid-2019, Duane admitted in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he had plans of selling the house, despite not wanting to definitely leave Hawaii: ‘it’s not morbid and she didn’t pass there, but that’s her house, right? my house kind of was the Denver place, her house was Hawaii’, he admitted. Although it’s known that settlement discussions between Duane and the Mills went on, it’s unknown what the fate of the house was.
Other Financial Problems
Besides being sued for failing to pay for his Hawaiian home, Duane has gone through some other financial difficulties in recent years. Shortly after his wife Beth’s passing, Duane was reportedly in a huge tax debt of his Colorado house for $5,800.
That figure was added to another $5,809 for a lien on the house, amounting to a total of $11,609.92 if not paid, as reported by The Sun.
In order to pay off these debts, Duane was on the lookout for a criminal whose arrest would net Dog $1.5 million. Help from the local Juror was needed so he could have the extra time he needed to put his hands on the man who would get him out of financial trouble: ‘Because of my health, Beth’s passing, I’m going to get an extension. I have to catch the bastard. I love it’, he told The New York Times in January 2020.
In the same interview, Duane revealed the cause of his lack of money. His declining health including recent blood clot diagnosis, being the source of income of his family and his then-current emotional turmoil caused by the death of Beth all took a toll on him, subsequently risking his home.
Nevertheless, while it’s unclear if he finally caught the criminal he was looking for, Duane somehow solved his financial problems, and kept the house.
What Happened To Beth?
Unfortunately, Beth Chapman died on the morning of 26 June 2019 at 51 years old, after battling Stage four lung cancer for a couple of years. The news was announced by Duane through social media: ‘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’, he wrote.
According to reports, Beth and her husband were staying at the Hawaii home when she lost consciousness and was immediately taken to Queen’s Medical Center. She was put into intensive care, but sadly passed away less than a week later.
Regarding her illness, at first Beth was diagnosed with throat Cancer in Stage two in September 2017, which went into remission after treatment. Unfortunately, she was later diagnosed with Lung Cancer, and despíte undergoing several chemotherapy treatments, she ultimately quit these, and kept working with Duane as a bounty hunter in the meantime, as seen in “Dog’s Most Wanted”. Her health struggles were filmed by the show, following Beth’s orders: ‘Beth was adamant, she wanted everything filmed, If anyone wanted the camera turned off, it was Dog’ as showrunner Matt Asmus told The New York Times.
The Chapman family said goodbye to Beth during a paddle out memorial in the Hawaiian ocean.
REST IN PEACE: Beth Chapman, star of the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” reality TV show, has died after a battle with cancer. She was 51.
MORE: https://t.co/n9TuhxxHPJ pic.twitter.com/ouXlTL8yaU
— FOX 35 Orlando (@fox35orlando) June 26, 2019
How Did Dog and Beth Meet?
While Beth and Duane’s story might have ended on a sad note, their love path was filled with many good and memorable moments. The story of their first meeting is one of those which fit in the latter category, as they found each other in the least common circumstances.
Back in the 1990s, Beth was arrested for accidentally stealing lemons from a convenience store. The bail was paid by Dog, a friend of her lawyer and who Beth had never met prior to it. The first encounter happened in Dog’s office, when he entered the room and left Beth totally smitten at first sight: ‘I thought ‘oh yes, he will be mine. Let the stalking begin now’,’ she said in an interview with A&E when “Dog the Bounty Hunter” still aired.
The story didn’t end there though – right then, Beth decided to become a bail bond agent in order to attract Dog’s attention: ‘I knew that if I wrote a whole bunch of bad bail that the bounty hunter would have to come sit in my office’, she affirmed.
Beth’s strategy paid off, and the pair didn’t take long to become a couple.
Their Family
Although Beth and Duane had an off-on relationship for many years, they eventually formed a stable family. In December 1998, the pair welcomed their first child, a daughter they named Bonnie Joanne, followed by their son Garry in February 2001.
The couple wasn’t married yet, as Duane was still officially married to his fourth wife Tawny Marie Chapman, with whom he’d tied the knot in 1992, but lasting only a couple of years together. Despite not being married, Duane adopted Beth’s daughter Cecily Barmore, born in 1993 from a previous marriage. He also apparently helped Beth in reconnecting with her oldest son Dominic, whom she gave birth to in the 1980s, but was given up for adoption.
Finally in 2006, and 16 years after their first meeting, Beth and Duane tied the knot on Hawaii’s Big Island. The ceremony was attended by almost all of their children except for Duane’s daughter from a previous marriage Barbara Katy, who was killed in a car accident the previous day. Nevertheless, the couple proceeded with the ceremony despite the sadness, and with the approval of the entire family. It was a memorable event which was covered by the press, given the growing fame of the Chapmans back then, thanks to their TV show.
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Other Relationships
While Duane Chapman’s marriage to Beth was definitely the longest, she obviously wasn’t the first woman he’d tied the knot with. His first marriage was to a woman named La Fonda Sue Darnell, with whom he welcomed children Leland Blane and Duane Lee. Apparently, Duane had already become a father, as his former girlfriend Debbie White secretly became pregnant with his child Christopher Michael Hecht, born in 1972, and given up for adoption without Duane’s knowledge.
After his marriage with La Fonda failed, in 1979 Duane married Ann Tegnell and welcomed children Zebadiah, Wesley and James, who unfortunately grew up with no contact with Duane following this divorce in the 1980s. Later on, Duane tied the knot with Lyssa Rae Brittain during a Native American ceremony celebrated in 1982. The couple welcomed children Tucker Dee, Lyssa Rae and the late Barbara Katie before divorcing in 1991.
Later in 1992 Duane married for the fourth time to Tawny Marie, despite his better judgment: ‘I knew in my heart that marrying Tawny was a mistake’, he revealed in his book “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide”. The couple didn’t have any children together, and separated in 1994, eventually divorcing in 2002.
Did He Marry Again?
It’s not unusual for widowed people to find themselves in love again, but in Duane Chapman’s case, his love path after Beth’s passing in 2019 has been quite controversial. According to an interview he gave People back then, he had promised Beth on her deathbed that he wouldn’t be closed about dating again, but that he definitely wouldn’t remarry: ‘What deal we said is that I will never take ‘Beth’ off my chest, I have her name here. And I will never get married’, he said.
His first, next girlfriend’s name was Moon Angell, a friend of the late Beth whom Duane started dating, and moved in together a couple of months after his late wife died. However, the relationship wasn’t well received by Duane’s daughters Lyssa and Cecily, who famously criticized the union on social media.
Moon and Duane’s didn’t last long together; in early 2020 Duane met Francie Frane, who had also recently been widowed. Both hit it off and eventually tied the knot in 2021, getting the approval of the family except for Bonnie and Cecily, who weren’t invited to the wedding.
Despite all the criticism, Duane and Francie have seemingly been happily together for a couple of years, even moving together to Florida in late 2022, after the sale of Dog’s Colorado mansion.
What’s In The Future For Dog?
Duane Chapman’s most recent work on TV was the season long series “Dog’s Most Wanted”, premiered in 2019. Following that production, he was featured in “Dog Unleashed”, though the series never aired and he was sued by the network Unleashed for $1.3 million in late October 2021. As stated in court documents, the reason for the lawsuit was breach of contract for supposedly illegal activities which took place while filming the show.
As Duane deals with the scandal and a failed TV project, it seems unlikely that his return to TV will happen any time soon, but it’s almost a given that he won’t disappear completely from public life either, much to his fans’ joy.
