Beth Chapman passed away in late June at age 51, after a lengthy battle with throat cancer.
Her hasband Duane, also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, has made no secret of the fact that he’s struggling to cope with her absence.
Over the weekend, Duane posted a photo of Beth on Instagram for the first time since her death, and fans are seriously torn up about it.
Beth looks beautiful in the photo, sitting cross-legged on a sage green couch, wearing a black sleeveless dress and a kind smile on her face.
She seems to be enjoying the night life, with a martini on the table in front of her.
It’s not clear when or where the photo was taken, or if she was celebrating some special occasion.
There are no hints or context given in Duane’s simple, heartfelt caption: "My Baby."
Succinctly put, Dog. Sometimes you really can say more with less.
Fans of the couple were destroyed all over again.
In less than a day, the post has racked up hundreds of comments from fans reaching out to offer their love and support.
"I miss her so much," commented Beth’s daughter-in-law Jamie, adding a red heart emoji.
"Just WHY," implored one distraught poster, who added three broken heart emoji.
"She was beautiful then, and always will be," wrote another very correct commentor.
Another well-meaning but tasteless user wrote "I always thought she had the most sexiest legs."
Granted, they are lovely, and definitely on display in this photo, but now is not the time to be objectifying her body.
Many others joined in the chorus, and pretty much every comment includes the word ‘beautiful’ and one or more hearts of verying colors.
Though Duane did post one meme about not pissing off old people, this is only his second post since Beth’s death, and his first since her memorial service on July 15.
Duane got on stage to deliver a heart-wrenching speech at the end of the memorial service, telling fellow mourners that he "cannot believe that she’s gone."
"She will never be dead to me," Duane said. "I’m gonna get to heaven and make her proud."
There, he said, "She’s gonna say, like she did here, ‘That’s my man right there, that’s big daddy right there.’"
Duane also shared one of the couple’s tear-jerking final interactions, after she had withered away to 119 lbs.
"She said, ‘Please big daddy, please let me go,’" he recalled.
"No, I can’t," he responded to her, "I’m not gonna let you go."
"I still haven’t let her go," he told the guests at the memorial.
‘If there’s a God, He won’t let me live that long without her," Duane added, grief-stricken.
Duane concluded with some advice for anyone whose significant other is still alive.
"If you’re beefin with your old lady, stop and kiss her right now," he suggested, "because you’re gonna feel so bad when he or [she] are not with you anymore."
Definitely some words to consider. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, and we really have precious little time to be with the ones we love.
We’re all wishing Duane strength and peace in the challenging times ahead.
For those of us who aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to Beth, there’s still a chance to see her in a few episodes of Dog’s Most Wanted when the new series airs next year.
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