Happily ever after! Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman and Francie Frane are officially husband and wife following a rocky road to the altar.

The ceremony took place on Thursday, September 2. The pair, who got engaged in May 2020, originally had to hold off on their wedding plans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“They knew from the start of their relationship it was a special union and they have wanted to marry for a long time, but COVID made things difficult,” a source mentioned to Us last month.

At the time, the reality star exclusively told Us that his nuptials would be a very special day for them no matter what.

“This isn’t just a wedding ceremony, it’s going to be a marriage,” Dog explained to Us in August. “I knew Francie was the one almost straight away, and we’re both looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together.”

Later that month, their upcoming wedding made headlines when his daughters Cecily Chapman and Bonnie Chapman confirmed to TMZ that they weren’t invited to the ceremony.

Dog, who shares his daughters with late wife Beth Chapman, noted that nothing was going to put a damper on his big day.

“I have a large family and most of them are going to be here for it. I love all my kids and it’s going to be great to have so many people here to celebrate,” he told Us late last month. “We’ve spent so long on this to ensure it’s going to be just perfect and believe me, nothing is going to get in the way of us.”

After Bonnie claimed that her father was unfaithful to their mother, who passed away from cancer in 2019, the Dog’s Most Wanted star denied the accusations, calling them an attempt to “bring a cloud over our wedding.”

“They’ve fallen in with a bad crowd and are working with the wrong people — I know because I’ve not only had dealings with them, but arrested them myself previously,” he told Us. “This is exactly why we had to exclude them.”

That same day, tragedy struck for Dog when his brother-in-law ended up in the hospital due to COVID-19 complications.

“This is a terrible blow just one week ahead of the wedding,” an insider revealed about Frank Hammond, who is the husband of Dog’s sister Paula. “Dog and Francie were really looking forward to celebrating with Paula and Frank. This is a terrible thing to happen to him. They’re praying he pulls through.”

Although the twosome dealt with a few obstacles on their way down the aisle, Dog previously opened up about how instant their connection was after they bonded over the loss of their spouses.

“It’s just incredible that I’ve been able to meet someone like her,” Dog explained to TMZ in May 2020 following his engagement. “With Francie, I’m allowed to speak about Beth. I talk about Bob, who was her husband that passed, and we cry and we hold each other.”

The Colorado native gushed about how much Frane inspired him since they first met.

“I am a fixer. I gotta catch bad guys. I gotta be at the top of my game,” he added. “I gotta get out there and make a difference, that’s what I do for a living. I gotta man up [and] she helps me do that.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Yana Grebenyuk