Fan-favorite reality TV star Duane Chapman, better known to audiences everywhere as Dog the Bounty Hunter, went through the emotional wringer in the past year, from personal health problems to the publicized hospitalization and death of his wife, business partner and co-star Beth Chapman, who passed away in June 2019. Not a full year has passed since that tragic situation, but the widowered Dog has already found a way to transition from his mourning period to something more celebratory: he's getting married again!
That's right, it was recently revealed that Dog the Bounty Hunter will once again walk down the aisle (for the sixth time) to wed current girlfriend Francie France. And rather than keeping things rather small-scale and subdued, Dog is already planning on throwing 'the biggest wedding there's ever been," which is right on brand for him. Here's how the TV celeb wants to celebrate his upcoming nuptials, according to The Sun.
I've had so many fans ask 'When you marry Francie, are you going to let your fans come? So we're word negotiating right now because I want to open it up. I would love to have the biggest wedding there's ever been. 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 hell of a party and it's just what people need right now. I told Francie, people they need a little love after being locked down. I love the idea of that.
As it stands with the current state of public events, lavish weddings with massive guest lists aren't exactly the norm, but Duane Chapman wants to make his big day with Francie France an experience that his entire fanbase (and then some) can celebrate alongside the couple. Dog is obviously planning for all twelve of his children to take part, along with France's two sons, and the couple's combined batch of grandchildren.
Dog the Bounty Hunter wasn't explicitly clear about how he and Francie France would want to go about tackling the biggest wedding ever, but there are certain guesses that fans can make. For one, it's very likely that the couple will choose to have the ceremony in Hawaii, considering that's where Dog resides when he's not staying at his mainland home in Colorado. Not that Colorado isn't beautiful or anything, but when Hawaii is an option for a wedding, it's probably hard not to take it.
As well, fans can probably assume that, rather than sending out personalized invitations to his millions-strong fanbase, Duane Chapman would likely broadcast his wedding day online via some form of livestream, which would allow for the biggest number of people to join in on the festivities. Granted, that would come with its own headaches involving cameras, crews and bandwidth, but if Dog does indeed plan to take his wedding to Francie France to the next level, minor details like that almost definitely won't stop him.
The couple started dating earlier this year at some point after Dog reached out to speak with Francie's husband Bob, not realizing he'd passed away six months earlier than Beth Chapman had. After France clued Dog in on Bob's fate, they two became friends and later advanced their relationship. Thankfully, the perhaps sudden news doesn't appear to have caused much turmoil within the Chapman family. In fact, Dog and Beth's daughter Bonnie took to social media with an emotional message defending her father's new relationship and saying her mother cannot be replaced. Read her post below:
Obviously, with a situation like this, there are bound to be plenty of naysayers among those who couldn't be happier for the couple. Especially since this engagement comes just a few months after Dog's uncomfortable on-air proposal to longtime family friend Moon Angell, which went down on an episode of Dr. Oz.
However, it does sound like Dog and Francie France have been experiencing way more positive feedback than anything too negative. Here's how Dog feels about both the good and the bad vibes:
You know we go to Walgreens, Walmart, Starbucks and every single fan has been like 'My God you guys look good together' or 'Boy Dog you should keep with her, with her strength and her Christianity, she will stand by you.' Or they tell Francie, 'That guy right there is loyal.' So we have trusted that - and everyone is happy for us. And you know there's always going to be haters, and I probably arrested half of them.
At this point, Duane Chapman and Francie France have yet to officially set a date for their upcoming wedding, but stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more details as they become available. Don't be surprised if Dog the Bounty Hunter finds a way to get one of his familiar networks – A&E, CMT and/or WGN America – to turn the event into a TV special.
