Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman Considered Suicide After Wife Beth’s Death
Duane "Dog" Chapman considered taking his own life after wife Beth Chapman died in June. During the season finale of Dog's Most Wanted on WGN, viewers watched as the family wrestles with the difficult decision to take the 51-year-old off of life support.
Breathing became very difficult for Beth Chapman in the end, leading to a trip to the emergency room and her being placed in a medically induced coma. The prognosis was very grim.
"Her heart is bad, she has sepsis," the former Dog the Bounty Hunter star tells his family. "The kidneys are affected, the liver's got cancer all through it, she's got pneumonia, and she's got the infection. And now it's like, do we pull the plug?"
The decision to take Beth off of life support is one the family anguished over, and they felt little relief one day later, when she died. Even though the Chapmans' faced cameras quickly to share her final moments and let fans know there would be a public celebration of life soon, they struggled at home.
"I just hope that I don’t live very much longer without her, because now she made the first step, she’s through the gate," Duane Chapman said in Wednesday night's (Nov. 6) finale (quote via People). "I want to take a g– d— pain pill so bad. I feel like if I did something to myself right now and passed away suicidal and I got to heaven and was like, 'Hi honey,' and would she go, 'You d— a–, why would you do that?' Or would she go, 'Wow, you’re here.' I’ll be like 'Of course I’m here. You left me. I’m here.' So, am I obligated to do that?"
It's clear the rest of the Chapmans also struggled with the decision and the sadness that followed. After watching the finale, Beth's stepdaughter, Lyssa Chapman, took to Instagram to talk about the last few months, which have been difficult:
Dog's Most Wanted cameras captured the family's response in real time, which made for some raw television. Duane Chapman talks about struggling to be alone to the point that he said he came running out of the shower — his only alone time. Daughters Bonnie and Cecily are also part of an emotional scene that marked the finale of Season 1 of Dog's Most Wanted. It's not clear if the reality show has been picked up for Season 2, but most insiders feel it's likely. The show continued filming into at least mid-July.
Months later, some of Duane Chapman's physical struggles would become well known. He was hospitalized for a heart emergency which led to a pulmonary embolism diagnosis. It's not clear how quickly he'll be able to chase fugitives again.
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