Dog The Bounty Hunter Recalls Telling Kids About Wife's Cancer: It Was 'Devastating'
Dog the Bounty Hunter was destroyed when he found out that his beloved wife, Beth Chapman, had been diagnosed with cancer. But the star told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview that telling their children about the diagnosis was even more "devastating."
"They would not accept the fact that mom was even sick. When I had to break it down to them it became mutiny on the bounty. It was devastating to me," recalled Dog, also known as Duane Chapman, 64.
Beth, who discovered she had Stage 2 throat cancer on August 29, told RadarOnline.com: "I went to very dark places that first week. I was consulting Dr. Google. It was absolutely the worst thing you could do in this circumstance."
The couple decided to film the experience for television, returning to A&E on November 27 with a two-hour special titled Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives.
Beth, 50, explained why she decided to capture her family's worst moments on camera.
"At that moment of the diagnosis I was like, 'I'm going to go absolutely nuts if I don't have something to do.' So many people who reached out to me over the years had been a complete blessing to us. We've shared so many things with our fans.The death of our daughter, the death of my father, baby Lisa's wedding, our wedding. There were too many moments of our life we shared. It only makes sense that we should share it as well," she said.
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The reality wife and mom also said she hoped she could help fans battling similar medical crises.
"At that time when I was really at my darkest I thought, 'If I die at least I can be an example to other people and fight like hell and not let this overtake you.' You've got to draw strength from yourself."
Despite her husband's support, she told RadarOnline.com she has her doubts about her prognosis. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, she has a 50/50 chance of survival.
"You have to have a little bit of realism. You have to look at the situation and think, this is serious stuff. You can't always candy coat it...I want to hope for the best always, but you're not always going to get the best," she admitted. "I needed to be realistic about things, and not look at this through rose-colored glasses. Because it isn't rosy."
Tune in to Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives on November 27 at 9pm ET/PT on A&E.
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