Dog the Bounty Hunter’s wife, Beth Chapman, opened up about her journey as a single mother — and of her road to becoming one of the world’s most beloved reality stars — with the congregation of The Source Church in Bradenton, Florida. Chapman’s touching testimony was broadcast live on The Source’s Facebook page so that her massive following could listen to her beautiful words of encouragement. Hopefully her fans were able to adopt a few important life lessons from the mother, wife, and famous bounty hunter.
Chapman opened up about becoming a young, unwed mother at just 17 years old. She shared that her family was a part of the Mennonite church, and she revealed that her strict, religious upbringing brought her to points of rebellion. After finding out she was pregnant, Chapman’s mother sat her down with a group of elders in her church. The elders wanted her to apologize to the entire congregation for becoming pregnant. Chapman said this moment was crucial for her, and it caused her to go off on her own — and to move away from her family — in order to deliver her child. Beth felt more comfortable in moving away from what she felt was a judgmental group of people, as she detailed.
“Nobody means to go out and shame a single mother, they just feel that. It’s harder for them to get by, it’s harder for them to get a place to live, it’s harder for them to feed their child. It’s hard. And they feel shame and they feel depressed and a lot of people have lots of guilty feelings because of the things they can not give their children. I was one of those.”
The Dog’s Most Wanted star shared her message of hope with the congregation. Beth Chapman said that, at one point, she felt as if she wasn’t qualified to give advice to folks who may be going through some of the same things she had overcome. However, she then realized that it was her experience which made her a great role model — and the actress said that she strives to help people now, more than ever before.
Chapman also alluded to having stopped her chemotherapy treatments in favor of relying solely on her faith. She shared that having cancer again was her “ultimate lesson,” in a list of many harsh lessons — from being in jail, to facing addiction, to losing a child. Elaborating upon her life in front of a packed and attentive audience, it was obvious that Beth Chapman was being very candid in her very personal comments. Further, this recent health battle presents the ultimate test of faith for Chapman, in her own words.
“This is the ultimate test of faith. It is the evidence of things hoped for, and it is the substance of things not known. And although chemotherapy is not my bag, people, sorry, that’s not for me. So for me, this is the ultimate test of faith,” Chapman shared.
