Making it a little bit easier. Duane “Dog” Chapman took to Instagram on Friday, April 24 to reveal how his new girlfriend, Francie Frane, helps him when he is feeling overwhelmed with grief over the loss of his wife, Beth Chapman.

“I scream [and] cry, ‘Beth, where are you? Why did you leave me? Then I look up [and] see you, Francie, [and] the pain turns to a smile,” Duane, 67, wrote in the caption of a photo of his new lady love. “I LOVE YOU WOMAN!!” Francie, 51, shared Duane’s IG post on her Story and added, “I love you babe!” She also added a beating red heart GIF.

Duane Chapman and Francie Frane Photo
Courtesy of Duane Chapman/Instagram

Fans took to the comments to share their thoughts on the Dog’s Most Wanted star’s relationship with Francie. “May you never forget Beth. Having a woman who encourages you to remember your lost love is a wonderful woman,” one fan wrote. “So happy you two have found each other!! I don’t think anyone else would understand your pain. What a beautiful lady!!” another fan commented, adding a smiling face, pink sparkle heart and 100 points emoji.

Duane went public with his relationship with Francie, who is a rancher from Colorado, in March 2020. The couple started dating a few months ago, and they met when Duane called Francie’s husband, Bob, to hire him to do some yard work at his home in the state. But Francie, unfortunately, had to inform Duane that her husband had died just a few months before Duane’s own spouse, Beth, died in June 2019. After that, they continued to talk on the phone and their romance blossomed and they both could relate to each other because they both lost a spouse to cancer.

“They are both so happy together and they are good for each other,” Duane’s daughter, Lyssa Chapman, told The Sun in March 2020. “Francie has been very respectful to all the kids — and to Beth’s memory — and my dad is the same way with Bob and their children. They go to church three times a week and dad is trying to give up smoking — she is a good woman for my dad.”

Thankfully for Duane, it seems like the whole Chapman family approves of his new relationship. His 21-year-old daughter, Bonnie Jo, defended his relationship in an Instagram comment on April 13. “Everyone who’s judging my father should sure pray that they never have to lose their loved one and get judged for trying to fill the void,” she wrote. “Your opinion is invalid. My mother would’ve wanted him to be happy. Now please shut up and let my dad live in peace.”

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