What Dog The Bounty Hunter’s Daughter Is Doing Now

The following article mentions sexual assault and addiction.

Over the years, the transformation of Dog the Bounty Hunter has been truly something to behold. Duane “Dog” Chapman became a household name in the blink of an eye thanks to the A&E series “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” which aired from 2004 to 2012. Dog ran the bounty hunting operation with his late wife Beth Chapman and some of his children. His daughter, Lyssa Chapman, also known as “Baby Lyssa,” joined in Season 2 and quickly became a fan favorite.

Baby Lyssa, born in 1987 to Dog and his third wife, Lyssa Rae Brittain, joined the show as a teenager. Despite her young age, Lyssa had already faced numerous challenges. Now, she’s a proud mom to Abbie Mae Chapman and Madalynn Grace Galanti.

Lyssa has always shown the real side of her life. In a 2023 episode of “The Rumor Mill” podcast, she mentioned getting shadowbanned by Instagram for sharing less-than-perfect content. “I posted my house dirty, and I got shadowbanned,” she said. Despite this, Lyssa has remained true to herself over the years.

To appreciate how far Lyssa Chapman has come, it’s important to understand her difficult childhood. Some fans may have assumed that she and Duane “Dog” Chapman always got along well, but that wasn’t the case. At 11, Lyssa falsely accused her father of sexual assault. “I had been molested by a friend of his,” she told Fox News in 2013. “It was a horrible life that I never wanted to go back to, living with him and Beth and the fighting and the drugs.”

When Lyssa moved to Alaska to live with her mother, she encountered a similar environment. Her mother also misused substances, but it seemed more manageable. “When I got to my mother’s, although she drank, it was much more peaceful. I was in school, I had friends, I was willing to do anything to not go back,” Lyssa said. Despite their fraught history, Lyssa and Duane managed to reconcile.

Lyssa Chapman’s life became even more complicated when she became a mother at 14. Her daughter, Abbie Mae Chapman, was born the day after Lyssa turned 15. Abbie’s father, who was in his 20s, eventually pled guilty to statutory rape.

By the time she joined the reality show in 2005, Lyssa was 18 and years into motherhood. As a young mom, Lyssa struggled. “Right after I had the baby, my mom moved with her boyfriend. She just stuck us in a trailer and told us to pay rent,” Lyssa told Fox News in 2013. At that time, she didn’t have a good relationship with her father and couldn’t turn to him for help. “I really felt like there was no future for me,” she recalled in 2023.

Lyssa Chapman joined “Dog the Bounty Hunter” in 2005, during the series’ second season. As she told Fox News in 2013, she hadn’t seen the first season because she didn’t have cable at her mom’s place. “I had heard Dad was the star of a show but I didn’t know anything about it so when I saw those cameras the first day I was astonished,” she explained.

Producers made a big deal about Lyssa’s return to Hawaii after six years in Alaska. The episode documenting her return was aptly titled “Baby’s Back in Town.” On a 2023 episode of “The Rumor Mill” podcast, Lyssa shared that she felt ready to live with her dad again at that point. “I kind of just changed my mindset and stepped into my power,” she said.

In 2013, Lyssa Chapman released her memoir, “Walking on Eggshells: Discovering Strength and Courage Amid Chaos.” She felt compelled to share her story after many people told her how interesting her life was. “That was what really inspired me to write the story because when I did tell people little tidbits of my life their reaction was, ‘Wow, I can’t believe you’re still standing,'” she said.

On a 2023 episode of “The Rumor Mill,” Lyssa reflected on her decision to write the memoir. “I wanted to talk about recovery and teen parenthood and the things that I went through in my childhood,” she said.

After “Dog the Bounty Hunter” ended, Lyssa Chapman began working on her reality series. As she told Fox News in 2013, the show aimed to help teen moms get jobs and support their families. “Teens are so bombarded with sex these days. It’s all about sex, and then when they get pregnant, it becomes this big glorified event or they’re shamed by their family,” she explained.

Years later, Lyssa shared more details about the series on “The Rumor Mill” podcast. However, the show never came to fruition. Despite this setback, she continued to make occasional TV appearances, including a cameo on “Hawaii Five-O” in 2014 and episodes of “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.” However, she’s hesitant about returning to reality TV unless it’s for something meaningful.

Lyssa Chapman has remained active on social media, sharing her fitness journey with her followers. In 2020, she frequently posted about her workouts, long hikes, and at-home exercise sessions. Her love for exercise led her to launch her clothing line, Baby by Lyssa Chapman, late in 2019. However, the brand faced some setbacks due to the pandemic and has not been updated since 2023.

Over the years, Lyssa Chapman’s appearance has changed, which is expected. As she mentioned on “The Rumor Mill” podcast, she was 17 or 18 when she first appeared on the show, and people often comment about how different she looks now. Despite the comments, she clarified that she hasn’t had plastic surgery; she’s simply grown up.

One noticeable change is her hairstyle. In 2020, she sported a new light blond long bob on Instagram, and by 2022, she had an even shorter chop. Lyssa seems to have embraced the light blond bob, which suits her well.

In 2020, Lyssa Chapman quit using alcohol. She shared her journey to sobriety on Facebook in December 2022. She recalled a transformative moment when she couldn’t drive her sick dog to the vet because she had been drinking. By December 2022, Lyssa celebrated 18 months of sobriety, acknowledging that staying sober during the holiday season was challenging but worth it.

Lyssa Chapman was previously married to Bo Galanti, with whom she had her youngest daughter, Madalynn Grace Galanti. In 2022, she married Leiana Evensen in a beach wedding in Hawaii. Lyssa shared photos of the special day on Instagram. Although Duane “Dog” Chapman wasn’t present, he listened to the ceremony over the phone. Despite his history of homophobic comments, Lyssa insisted that her father supports her marriage.

Dog the Bounty Hunter may be feuding with his daughter Bonnie Chapman, but he and Lyssa Chapman appear to be on good terms. In 2024, Lyssa announced that she was getting back into the family business. She shared a throwback photo of herself bounty hunting, captioned: “Guess who’s getting back into the family business?” Lyssa revealed that she previously had a license but let it lapse.

Although it’s unclear what Lyssa plans to do with her newly acquired license, she mentioned being open to joining her family for big cases. “If something happened where there was a big case, I would definitely be open to being a part of a team with my family,” she said.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues or has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below: