On the recent Dr. Oz episode, Duane “Dog” Chapman, star of Dog the Bounty Hunter and Dog’s Most Wanted admitted to the doctor that he lied to his late-wife, Beth Chapman, that he quit smoking. The world-famous bounty hunter has been going through lifestyle changes in order to make him healthier after his recent pulmonary embolism diagnosis.

It’s been one of the hardest years of the bounty hunter’s life, after the recent passing of his wife of 13 years, Beth Chapman, he’s been struggling both mentally and physically. Beth passed away at the age of 51, after fighting a long and painful battle with stage 4 throat cancer. She was in and out of the hospital and had undergone aggressive chemotherapy after her cancer returned in November 2018. The couple was in the middle of shooting their new series Dog’s Most Wanted for WGN America, which included intimate moments of Beth’s cancer struggle. After being hospitalized for difficulty breathing on June 22nd, she was then placed in a medically-induced coma by doctors for her own safety after experiencing severe pain from lack of oxygen. After days in a coma, Beth passed away at 5:32 am on June 26th in Hawaii. Dog has been mourning the loss of his wife and is so clearly shaken up by the changes that he revealed previously that he would never remarry, saying most recently that dating and having a sex life is a thing of the past as well.

While trying to heal from his wife’s death, Dog had his own health crisis. After suffering from heart-attack-like symptoms in September, 66-year-old Dog went to a hospital. After feeling like the hospital staff was rude, he went against medical advice and left the hospital without first receiving possible life-saving tests on his heart. Upon hearing the news of Dog’s heart emergency, Dr. Oz rushed to colorado to support Dog. The TV doctor made a house call to the bounty hunter and examined both him and his medical records, leaving him worried about the state of Dog’s heart. Dog revealed that the truth was that he was scared of being vulnerable and that was the real reason behind leaving the hospital.

The infamous bounty hunter then revealed after sitting down with Dr. Oz that he had actually made an unfulfilled promise to Beth while she was alive. He had told her he would quit smoking. He revealed that he had lied to her, telling her that he actually did quit when he hadn’t. When Beth asked him if he had quit, he said “Of course, I lied and said, ‘Yes.’” Dr. Oz asked him, “Why did you lie to her?” Dog answered, “Well, I thought I could. Then I lasted about two hours before I needed a cigarette.” The fact that Dog hasn’t quit smoking has put him at huge risk for having a heart attack and Dr. Oz didn’t mince words with him, telling that he’s “a ticking time bomb.” 

Since the TV doctor gave Dog the wake-up call he needed, Dog then agreed to do a cardiac catheterization test to figure out if there were indeed blockages in his heart and if he needed medical intervention. As it turns out, Dog’s heart is healthy, but he’s still needing to make some lifestyle changes. The doctor who did the test told him that he needs to quit smoking once and for all. Dog told the doctor that he feels like right now it’s impossible for him to quit completely, but he did agree that he would do his best to cut down the amount he smokes a day until he will be able to quit. As Dog’s health is currently life or death, it seems that there is no better time than for him to finally fulfill his promise to his late-wife and quit smoking for good.

Next: Dog the Bounty Hunter Pays Tribute to His Late Wife on Beth’s Birthday

Dog’s Most Wanted airs Wednesdays at 9pm EST on WGN America.

Source: Dr. Oz