Cecily Chapman is the 30-year-old daughter of Beth Chapman, who rose to fame during her marriage to Dog the Bounty Hunter when they appeared together on his eponymous show. Sadly, Beth passed away in June 2019 after a battle with cancer, but her daughter continues to honor her in various ways.
Cecily posted a photo to her Instagram in late 2020 that proves just how much she looks like her late mom. Let’s take a look at her story.
If you’re familiar with the TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter, then you’d just need to take one look at Cecily Chapman to know who her mother is. Cecily is the daughter of Beth Chapman, the late wife of Duane “The Dog” Chapman, however, her father is Keith Barmore, from her mom’s previous relationship. Cecily looks just like her late mom and whenever she posts photos to her social media channels, fans are quick to point out the family resemblance.
In one photo posted in October 2020, Cecily dons a snakeskin-print bikini and poses for the camera as she pouts. She captioned the picture, “Bout to be a good week!” Fans couldn’t stop drawing comparisons to Beth in the comments, telling Cecily just how much she looks like her. And it’s not only that photo, but many on her Instagram draw similar reactions.
Fans came to know and love Beth as the right hand to her then-husband Duane on their reality TV show called Dog The Bounty Hunter. Unfortunately, while Beth’s star was rising in the spotlight, her light in real life was becoming dim as she had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Beth revealed she had been diagnosed with stage four throat cancer in September 2017, and although it’d gone into remission, by November 2018 it had returned and spread to her lungs. For two years, Beth fought the good fight, some of which was documented in a special that aired on A&E titled Dog & Beth: Fight of Their Lives. Her death came suddenly, as she was put in a medically-induced coma in hospital days before she passed away on June 26, 2019. Tragically, she was only 51 years old.
Sadly, Duane had stated that Beth had told him that she was going to die from the cancer. As reported by The Sun, he explained: “She woke me up one night and told me ‘Daddy, I’m going to die,’ and I said, ‘No you’re not.’ So she had accepted it and I would not.” Following her death, the public showed their love for Beth and gave their support to Duane and Cecily Chapman. A memorial service was held for Beth in Colorado, her home, and was flooded with thousands of people, most of whom were fans who loved her as well.
Then, for the one year anniversary of Beth’s passing, in June 2020, the family held two joint memorial services for her—one in Hawaii that was organized by Cecily and one in Colorado organized by Duane. While many fans weren’t able to physically attend either due to the pandemic, the family urged their followers to keep Beth’s memory alive in other creative ways, for example by going for a walk or hike and posting a picture to social media with the hashtags #ForTheLoveOfBeth and #ThisOnesForBeth. It’s an incredibly sweet and creative idea that honors Beth’s memory and helps to keep her fans connected, even when they can’t be there in person. Cecily did the same herself, posting to Instagram with the caption, “#ForTheLoveofBeth 1 Year sunrise Hike.”
After the hike honoring Beth, the afternoon was spent in the water where a paddle out took place. Cecily spoke to The Sun about her experiences that day, saying that she felt sad leading up to the memorial:
“I thought a lot about planning it and making it perfect for her, making the best flowers. It was definitely something I worked on all month long just to make sure that it was perfect. Then when the day came, I was really focused on what was going on. So it was kind of a bittersweet distraction. I was constantly on the move and I constantly had something to do all day. And that kind of got me through it.”
When in the water for the paddle out, Cecily described the feeling that she knew Beth was there in spirit and that, “You could definitely just feel her presence all through the day.” She added:
“Once it was all said and done it was a bittersweet feeling…I felt really sad because I didn’t want it to be the one year already. I felt like I was at peace but it has still taken me a while to share these pictures because I felt like it was just so precious to me at the time.”
No doubt it’s been incredibly hard losing her mom at such a young age, but Cecily has continued to keep her memory alive and honor Beth in various ways, including making a clothing line named For Beth that allows fans of her mom to feel connected to her too. The For Beth clothing line consists of hats, T-shirts, and even face masks as well. One of the great things about the face masks is that they are constructed out of recycled water bottles and come in a variety of colored camouflage patterns.
On top of honoring her mom, Cecily is also busy planning her wedding to her fiance Matty Smith. In the same interview with The Sun, she opened up saying he had been her “rock” as he stood by her as she mourned her mom’s death and as she planned the memorial ceremony. After getting engaged, Cecily recalled the uncertainties that come with deciding whether to spend the rest of your life with someone. She said:
“You know in relationships I’ve always thought how is it going to be when you move in together? How are you in the best time? How are you when you travel? How are you in the worst times?”
After taking her time and focusing on honoring her mom first, she said she now feels ready to marry Smith and that he is the one for her. She told the publication:
“And I feel like it took me a year of grieving to reassure me that this is who I think I should be with because if he can put up with me at my best, my worst, then I feel like I should give him that shot. I feel like he deserves it because he’s been with me for thick and thin. And the fact that he slept by my side this whole time, just kind of reassuring me, as I struggled with my grief. If we can get through this and we’re still totally in love, there’s got to be something huge there.”
Cecily even hinted that perhaps there could be two upcoming weddings in the Chapman family—hers and Duane’s! Although Duane had initially stated that he would never remarry after having lost Beth and that there would never be a new Mrs. Chapman in his life, he was later found to have been involved with Moon Angell, who was not only his assistant but Beth’s friend as well. Although the relationship didn’t last very long, Cecily was still hurt and shocked by the revelation. However, their relationship didn’t last and Duane found love once again, this time to a woman named Francie Frane, who was a widow like himself. After forming a friendship, a romance quickly followed that led the couple to become engaged.
Cecily told The Sun in the same interview that her goal was to get married in the summer of 2021 if it’s possible to do so considering the ongoing pandemic, and she seemed very happy about the prospect of her and Duane getting married around the same time, saying:
“So yeah there could be two Chapman weddings and that would be very exciting. Maybe we can plan them close together so no one has to move too far to go to both!’
Not only might they get married around the same time, but Cecily even said she’d be interested in working with Duane on his new TV show Dog’s Dirty Dozen. A licensed bail bondswoman and bounty hunter, Cecily told The Sun:
“I’m hoping to start working with my dad again, hopefully that’s a possibility. I’m definitely on board.”
Imagine a show with Cecily assisting Duane—that would take honoring her mom to the next level! But whether the cameras are rolling or not, Cecily says it’s what she loves to do and would be doing regardless.
“We do love catching fugitives. And it’s something that we do regardless of a show or not. At any point Dakota can tell me, ‘Hey, we have a jump. We got to go.’ And I’m super excited to put on that gear and go out there whether the show is there or not.”
Cecily and Duane have done so much to keep Beth’s memory alive ever since she passed away in June 2019. As not just the oldest of Beth’s children but also the one who resembles her the most, Cecily’s image alone has been keeping Beth’s memory alive in the hearts of her fans. We’re sure there is much more they have planned to honor Beth in the future.
Are you a fan of Beth Chapman? Do you see the family resemblance between her and Cecily? Tell us in the comments, then be sure to pass this on to those you know!
