Dog the Bounty Hunter has revealed that he secretly fathered a son.
Dog the Bounty Hunter, whose real name is Duane Chapman, revealed on Monday – which is also the fourth anniversary of the death of his wife, Beth Chapman – that he secretly fathered a son named Jon.
Chapman posted a picture to his Instagram of his son with his arm around his wife, Jodi and wrote:
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“For the last four years, this day was a terrible reminder of one of the greatest losses of my life.”
“But God redeemed this day when I discovered my son Jon, who I just met recently, was born on this day. So now instead of sorrow, this day has a new meaning. This is my son Jon and his wife Jodi.”
Chapman, 70, revealed that he will open up about his long-lost son in his upcoming memoir Nine Lives and Counting, which is set to be out next year.
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“For anyone who has suffered a terrible loss please know God restores and redeems,” he concluded. “Happy birthday son, love you both.”
Including Jon, Chapman now has 13 children from various past marriages and relationships.
Beth and Duane Chapman were married for 13 years until Beth died in June 2019 at age 51 following a lengthy battle with stage two throat cancer.
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Just ten months later, Duane announced he had become engaged to Francie Frane. Frane’s husband had also passed away from cancer and according to TMZ, it was that common ground that led to the pair’s relationship.
“I’m getting married,” Chapman said of his wedding on the Two Guys From Hollywood podcast. “We went to the venue, picked it out yesterday, looked at it. Man, it costs a lot to get married.”
The couple tied the knot in September 2021 in Colorado surrounded by close friends and family. But the wedding wasn’t without a raft of family drama.
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Chapman’s daughter, Bonnie, was not in attendance of the couple’s nuptials and instead declared her decision to distance herself from her father via social media.
“I have expressed time and time again my ever-growing disappointment in my father’s progression into his old racist ways,” Bonnie, now 24, wrote in a Facebook post from around the time.
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