When Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman landed a new TV show last year alongside his wife Beth, little did they know how tragically things would turn out, with Beth passing away in July 2019 after battles with throat and lung cancers. The grieving Dog has remained in the spotlight since her death, for better or for worse in some cases, but things took an unexpected turn during a recent Dr. Oz episode where the widower dropped an impromptu marriage proposal on longtime family friend Moon Angell.
Though rumors of romantic undertones had spread online (along with Dog's death rumors), the proposal still gobsmacked many within the Chapman family's fanbase, considering it had only been seven months or so since Beth Chapman's death. Granted, Dog is known for speaking off the cuff, and has built a career on acting impulsively while on camera, but viewers had many questions about why that question was popped to begin with. According to Dog, it was his way of imploding their romance rumors.
I swear on my momma and on Beth that was not rehearsed. You saw Dr. Oz, he was like, ‘Oh my God!’ And I knew I was gonna do it way before I’d done it. I said, ‘This will stop these rumors.’ Guys, we don’t read the comments, like, ‘Ahh, he don’t mean it.’ Girls read ‘em all. So she read all the bad [ones]. . . . I mean, it was killing her. So I thought, I got her into this, I gotta get her out of it. So that put a 98% stop.
For a lot of people, the idea of asking someone for their hand in marriage is the worst way of proving that no romantic feelings are being shared. But Duane Chapman has his own signature way of handling things, and premeditating his own proposal rejection on TV was his chosen path to success. I suppose his jaw might have been the lowest in the building if she'd have said yes.
Alas, during Dog the Bounty Hunter's appearance on Entertainment Tonight, he was frank about Moon Angell's feelings for him, which implied that particular rumor mill might as well shutter its doors and windows. Also discussing his more complicated feelings for her, Chapman said this when asked if the proposal was a genuine one.
No. Never. You know, I’m very lonesome. So here’s what psychiatrists have told me. She was very accessible. . . . She knew Beth and she talked about Beth constantly. ‘Remember what Beth used to tell us?’ And of course, I lit right up when she’d say that. I was like…infatuated with the dream. And I realized that when my shrink told me, ‘No, that’s not good.’ You know, Moon said, ‘Of all men, if I had to pick a man, there’s nothing about you that I’d pick.’ Uh, cross her out, you know? [Laughs.] She’s still my friend, and she still works for me; takes care of the finances and the parts like that. But I kind of embarrassed her a little bit, and I shouldn’t have.
Instead of waving a hand and dismissing everything as foolishness, Duane Chapman indeed seemed to cop to having feelings for Moon Angell, though ones born more out of loneliness and familiarity than any idealized version of "love." He's certainly not alone in that respect, although whether his explanation convinces everyone in the fanbase is another question entirely.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dog talked about how the last bond Beth Chapman ever wrote set up the most dangerous situation ever for him. So fans can look forward to seeing that in the future.
While waiting, head to our Winter and Spring premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows on the way.
