Remembering the love of his life. Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman opened up to reporters on Wednesday, June 26, hours after he confirmed that his wife, Beth Chapman, had died at age 51 following a battle with cancer.
“When she had an attack I didn’t know anything to do but to say ‘in Jesus’ name’ and hold her, and when I said ‘in Jesus’ name’ she said, ‘Say it again, say it more,’” Dog told Hawaii News Now through tears as he put his hand over his heart while recalling Beth’s final words to him. “And then she told the girls and everybody, with her mouth — she came out of it a couple times — ‘I love you’ and ‘Are you guys all OK? Don’t worry,’ but she never accepted it.”
Beth was first diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in September 2017 but announced two months later that she was free of the disease after it was successfully removed. She was later rushed to the hospital in November 2018 where she underwent emergency surgery. Doctors at the time discovered that the cancer had returned and spread to her lungs.
Dog told the media outlet that his wife of 13 years “wanted to live so badly,” noting that’s “why she fought so long” to beat the battle. “For a few years we knew this day would come,” he said as his voice cracked. “It came really unexpected, really fast. All of her clothes, her makeup, everything [is still in place at home]. We didn’t prepare.”
The former bail bondsman confirmed in a tweet on Saturday, June 22, that Beth was placed in a medically induced coma and that she wasn’t doing well. Despite her condition, Dog made sure his longtime love was freshly manicured, just as he knew she’d like. “You all know how she is about HER NAILS !!” he captioned a photo of Beth’s hand at her side in a hospital bed.
While Dog’s daughter Lyssa Chapman told reporters that they haven’t yet put plans in place for a memorial, a source confirmed to Us Weekly that per Beth’s request, her body will be cremated. Dog also urged fans not to donate money to any social media fundraisers in her honor, and instead send flowers as that is what Beth would have wanted.
