PHOTOSDuane 'Dog' Chapman Reveals Family Christmas Plans & How He's Honoring Late Wife Beth Chapman
Dec. 20 2019, Published 6:16 p.m. ET
Duane "Dog" Chapman opened up about his family's plans for Christmas and how they will honor his late wife Beth Chapman in a new interview. Beth passed away in June after a battle with throat cancer, and the Dog The Bounty Hunter star has had a difficult time in the months since her death. Duane revealed that Beth loved Christmas and he plans to keep the traditions she put in place alive.
"For the holidays, probably half of us, including me, will be in Colorado, and then the other half is in Hawaii, and of course Leland is in Alabama," Duane said, referring to his son. "So this year, everybody's all spread out," he told Entertainment Tonight.
He continued, "Beth was old style, old-fashioned. So, you know, that means the tree and the presents. All the stockings hung up … so I'm trying to keep that exact tradition. I've got it all decorated. All the stockings are hung. We always left — when the kids were young — cookies for Santa, and I think I'll do that this year also. Every little ball that's on the tree, every ornament, you know, there's 20 years plus of ornaments on that tree, so as I hung them, I remembered where and when we bought each one."
Duane confessed that his daughters are having the hardest time getting through the holidays without their mom. "Beth knew every single Christmas song, and she made us all listen to Christmas songs like two weeks before Christmas. As we decorated the tree, she'd put on Christmas songs. Every night before we went to bed she'd put them on. So I think the girls are taking it the hardest without being able to sing with mom," he said.
The reality star is still in disbelief at how much time has passed since he lost his beloved spouse. "It's the worst thing you could ever go through. I've been to prison, I've been let out of prison. I've captured some of the worst sons of b****es in the world, and nothing is worse than this. It seems like yesterday. Six whole months already. And pretty soon it will be a year. It's really hard when you start thinking about how long it's been. I think that's the worst of all, because I can't believe it's been six months," he reflected.
Duane admitted that he lost the will to live after Beth's death, but he's started to take better care of himself in recent months. He was hospitalized in September after a heart attack scare. In the weeks that followed, he learned that he actually had a pulmonary embolism.
"The first few months I didn't care whether I lived or died. As a matter of fact I kept getting upset every time I woke up in the morning. I'm doing much better with my health. I've almost quit smoking. That patch is a miracle. It's just amazing and I'm taking blood thinners for the blood clot in my lung and exercising. I always have worked out every day and I'm double that now. So yeah, I need to live to get through my mission in life," he said.
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