Instagran/@duanedogchapman Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman and fiancee Francie Frane
Francie Frane is the woman who inspired Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman to get down on one knee for the sixth time. The couple announced their engagement on May 4 in an interview with the British newspaper The Sun.
Frane and Chapman have had a whirlwind romance. They went public with their relationship in March and have been quarantining together at his home in Colorado.
The engagement comes less than one year following the death of Chapman’s fifth wife, Beth. She passed away in June 2019 at age 51 after battling cancer. Chapman stated after her death that he was open to dating in the future, but that he would never get married again.
Here’s what you need to know about Chapman’s new fiancee:
1. Chapman Surprised Frane With a Candlelit Proposal & the Couple Wants to Have a Large Wedding
Chapman and Frane have been living together at his house in Colorado. He surprised her with the romantic proposal after she came home with dinner.
Frane said she walked in the door and saw that Chapman had dimmed the lights and lit a few candles. She told The Sun, “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’… 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?'”
Frane said she had not guessed that Chapman had been planning to propose. Chapman told the British newspaper the couple wants to have a large wedding once coronavirus restrictions are lifted. He plans to invite fans as well as family. ” would love to have the biggest wedding there’s ever been… It would be one hell of a party and it’s just what people need right now.”
Chapman has 12 children from his previous marriages. Frane has two sons.
2. Frane Is A Widow & Says She Believes God Brought Her & Chapman Together
Like Chapman, Frane has also been mourning the loss of a spouse to cancer. Her husband, Robert William Frane, passed away on December 30, 2018. He was 64, according to the obituary.
Frane posted a photo with Chapman on April 11, 2019, but before that, her Instagram profile had been dark since before her first husband’s death. She shared a picture of the two of them from a baseball stadium on July 4, 2017. She wrote at the time, “Happy 4th Of July ? Showing Off My Dad’s Favorite Hat @ The Rockies Game With The Love Of My Life ❤️.”
Frane has shared on social media that she feels God helped to bring her and Chapman together at a time when they both needed each other. She wrote in mid-April that their late spouses, Beth and Bob, cannot be replaced, but that “God has brought two people who walked a treacherous road together and shown us LOVE is possible again.”
Frane also shared a diary entry in which she reflected on how her romance with Chapman marked a new beginning. Frane wrote, “You never know how strong you are until strong is the only choice you have! So you cling to God & to His Word with all your might because it’s all you know to do. Then, one day, I looked up from the ashes, and there you stood. Wow, God!” In the caption of the post, Frane tagged Chapman and wrote, “I love you!”
3. Chapman & Frane Met Through Her Late Husband
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Chapman knew Frane’s late husband, Robert “Bob” Frane, before he met Francie. Chapman reached out to Bob Frane to ask about hiring him to do work on Chapman’s yard. According to a search of Colorado business records, Bob Frane owned a company called Frane Enterprises Inc, based out of Parker, Colorado.
But Chapman called after Bob Frane has already passed away. Chapman’s daughter, Lyssa, explained during a March 2020 interview that Francie Frane had to tell Chapman that her husband had died several months earlier, a few months before Beth Chapman died of throat cancer.
Lyssa Chapman explained that her father and Francie began talking on the phone on a regular basis. Their friendship grew as they comforted each other over the loss of their respective spouses.
4. Chapman’s Daughter: ‘Beth Sent Francie For My Dad’
Chapman’s family was not thrilled while he was dating longtime friend Moon Angell. Angell was a bridesmaid when he married Beth. The couple briefly dated before splitting in February 2020.
But it’s an entirely different situation with Francie Frane. Chapman’s children are supportive and on-board with the relationship, according to Chapman’s daughter Lyssa.
Lyssa Chapman told The Sun in March 2020 that she feels Beth not only would approve of the relationship but actually had a hand in sparking it. “Beth would approve – I honestly believe that Beth sent Francie for my dad – I feel like Beth and Bob are up there watching down over them,” Lyssa told the newspaper. “They are both so happy together and they are good for each other. Francie has been very respectful to all the kids – and to Beth’s memory – and my dad is the same way with Bob and their children.”
Lyssa added that Frane is a good influence on Chapman. “They go to church three times a week and dad is trying to give up smoking – she is a good woman for my dad. He’s the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time.”
Chapman appeared to agree with that sentiment in a touching tribute posted to Instagram. He shared a picture of Frane on April 24 with the caption, “I scream & Cry Beth where are you why did you leave me then I look up & see you Francie & the pain turns to a smile I LOVE YOU WOMAN!!”
5. Francie Frane Is a Rancher In Colorado
Frane works as a rancher in Colorado. On April 15, she shared a photo of Chapman riding on what looks to be a tractor. She joked on Instagram, “Let’s see if we can show this bounty hunting tough guy how to run some equipment, like us country folks do!!”
According to a search of Colorado business records, Frane owned a company called Erosion Solutions Inc. The company is registered to the same address as her late husband’s former business, but she used a previous name, Francie Riley, in the paperwork. Online records show the business was “Delinquent” as of 2009 but appears to have been re-verified in 2019.
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