Who Is Lyssa Rae Brittain? The Quiet Life Story of Duane “Dog” Chapman’s Ex-Wife

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Lyssa Rae Brittain is best known to the public as the third wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman, the American bounty hunter and reality television star who found fame on Dog the Bounty Hunter. Long before the cameras arrived, Brittain lived a quiet life in Colorado, where she met Chapman and married him in 1982. Their union produced several children, including Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman, who later became a television personality in her own right. Although Brittain and Chapman eventually divorced, her name remains closely tied to the Chapman family story, and many readers continue to search for details about her background, her years as Chapman’s wife and the life she has led since their split. This article brings together verified, well-sourced facts about her early years, her marriage, her children and where she stands today.

Lyssa Rae Brittain: Quick Bio Facts

Detail	Information
Full name	Lyssa Rae Brittain (née Greene)
Also known as	Big Lyssa
Date of birth	15 July 1954
Birthplace	Denver, Colorado, United States
Nationality	American
Religion	Christian
Occupation	Businesswoman, homemaker
Known for	Third wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman
Spouse	Duane “Dog” Chapman (married 1982, divorced)
Marriage length	Approximately nine years
Children	Tucker Dee Chapman, Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman, Barbara Katie Chapman, Nicholas Chapman
Famous daughter	Lyssa Chapman, television personality and businesswoman
Ex-husband’s profession	Bounty hunter, bail bondsman, television personality
Reported net worth	Approximately $500,000 (unverified estimate)
Social media presence	None known publicly
Current status	Living privately, away from public life

Early Life and Background

Lyssa Rae Brittain was born on 15 July 1954 in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. She grew up away from the public eye, and unlike her future husband, she never sought fame or a life in front of cameras. Detailed records of her childhood, schooling and early family life have never been widely published, which fits with the private nature she has maintained throughout her life.

Before she crossed paths with Duane Chapman, Brittain was already married to a minister. According to accounts from people close to the Chapman family, that marriage ended after her husband was unfaithful, and she chose to leave rather than stay in an unhappy union. This experience shaped her outlook when she later met Chapman, since both were nursing their own heartbreak at the time.

Friends and family have described Brittain as a deeply religious woman whose Christian faith guided many of her decisions. That same faith would go on to play a defining role in how she and Chapman came together, as her convictions reportedly impressed him from their very first conversation.

How She Met Duane Chapman

Brittain and Duane Chapman first crossed paths in a bar, an unlikely setting for a romance that would go on to shape both of their lives. At the time, Chapman was recovering from the breakdown of his second marriage, which had ended with his former wife taking their children. Brittain, meanwhile, had just walked away from her own troubled marriage to a minister.

The pair bonded quickly over their shared Christian faith. Chapman later recalled that when Brittain spoke about her understanding of the Lord, he was so struck by her conviction that he offered her money on the spot to have his child, a story that has since become one of the more widely repeated details of their courtship.

What followed was a whirlwind romance. Within roughly a month of meeting, the couple had decided to make their relationship official, moving quickly from a chance encounter to marriage.

Marriage to Duane Chapman

Lyssa Rae Brittain and Duane Chapman married in early 1982, in a ceremony officiated by an indigenous official in the mountains of Colorado, a detail that made their wedding distinctly personal rather than conventional. The marriage made Brittain the third wife of the man who would later become known worldwide as Dog the Bounty Hunter, long before any television cameras entered the picture.

The couple went on to spend roughly nine years together as husband and wife. During this period, Chapman was still years away from the fame that would follow him after his reality series launched, and the family lived a relatively ordinary life away from the public spotlight.

Like many of Chapman’s earlier relationships, the marriage to Brittain eventually broke down, and the couple divorced after nearly a decade together. Chapman would go on to marry further times before his marriage to Beth Chapman, his fifth wife and long-time television co-star, who became the most publicly recognised of his relationships.

Children of Lyssa Rae Brittain and Duane Chapman

Brittain and Chapman had several children together during their marriage. Their son Tucker Dee Chapman was born on 8 September 1983, followed by their daughter Lyssa Rae Chapman, born on 10 June 1987, who became widely known as “Baby Lyssa” to distinguish her from her mother, often called “Big Lyssa” within the family.

The couple’s other children include Barbara Katie Chapman and Nicholas Chapman, both of whom, like their siblings, grew up largely out of the media spotlight compared with their famous father. Baby Lyssa is the family member who eventually stepped into the public eye herself, appearing on her father’s reality series and going on to build her own career as a businesswoman and television personality.

Baby Lyssa has spoken candidly in interviews and in her 2013 memoir about a difficult and unsettled childhood, describing a home life that shifted considerably after her parents’ marriage ended. She has credited both parents with shaping who she became, while also being open about the challenges the family faced along the way.

Divorce and Life After Duane Chapman

After roughly nine years of marriage, Brittain and Chapman’s relationship came to an end, and the couple divorced. As with many of Chapman’s marriages, the separation reshaped the family dynamic considerably, and Brittain stepped away from any connection to the fame that would later surround her ex-husband.

Following the divorce, Brittain took on the role of raising her children largely on her own. She relocated with her young daughter, Baby Lyssa, to Anderson, a small and remote town in Alaska, a stark contrast to the life the family had known in Colorado. The move marked a clear turning point, taking the family far from Chapman’s growing public profile.

Baby Lyssa has since spoken about how unsettling this period was, describing Alaska as remote and unfamiliar compared to what she had grown used to. She has also suggested that her mother carried unresolved feelings about the marriage and its breakdown, feelings that appeared to influence the family’s relocation and the years that followed.

Life in Alaska and Later Years

Life in Anderson, Alaska, was markedly different from anything the family had experienced before. The town’s remoteness meant a slower pace of life and far fewer comforts, and Baby Lyssa has described the adjustment as genuinely difficult for a child accustomed to a different environment entirely.

During this period, Baby Lyssa became pregnant at the age of fourteen, a development that added further strain to an already challenging chapter for the family. Brittain continued to raise her children through these hardships, largely out of public view and without the support systems that fame might otherwise have provided.

Brittain did not give up on the idea of finding happiness again after her marriage to Chapman ended. Over time, she moved on with her own life, though details about her subsequent relationships and current whereabouts have remained largely private. As of 2026, she is understood to be living a quiet, low-profile life away from any media attention.

Net Worth and Career

Unlike her former husband, whose bounty hunting career and television deals brought him considerable wealth, Brittain has never pursued a public career of her own. She is generally described as a businesswoman and homemaker, though the specific nature of any business ventures she may have run has never been clearly documented.

According to unverified online estimates, Brittain’s net worth is reported to be in the region of five hundred thousand US dollars. It is worth noting that figures of this kind are rarely confirmed by primary sources, and readers should treat such estimates with a degree of caution.

Brittain has kept a low profile for decades, and unlike many people connected to reality television families, she does not appear to maintain any public social media presence. This absence of an online footprint has made verifying details of her post-divorce career and finances especially difficult for journalists and fans alike.

Conclusion

Lyssa Rae Brittain’s story is a reminder that not everyone connected to a famous family seeks the spotlight. As the third wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman and the mother of Baby Lyssa, she played a quiet but meaningful role in the Chapman family history, choosing privacy over publicity long after her marriage ended. Her life continues to interest fans of the family, even as she herself remains largely out of view.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lyssa Rae Brittain

1. Who is Lyssa Rae Brittain?

Lyssa Rae Brittain is the third wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman, the American bounty hunter and reality television star. She is also the mother of television personality Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman.

2. Is Lyssa Rae Brittain still married to Duane Chapman?

No. Brittain and Chapman divorced after roughly nine years of marriage, and Chapman went on to marry several more times before his marriage to Beth Chapman.

3. When were Lyssa Rae Brittain and Duane Chapman married?

The couple married in early 1982 in a ceremony held in the mountains of Colorado, officiated by an indigenous official.

4. How many children does Lyssa Rae Brittain have with Duane Chapman?

Brittain and Chapman had four children together: Tucker Dee Chapman, Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman, Barbara Katie Chapman and Nicholas Chapman.

5. Why is Lyssa Rae Brittain called “Big Lyssa”?

She is called “Big Lyssa” to distinguish her from her daughter, Lyssa Chapman, who is widely known as “Baby Lyssa.”

6. Where does Lyssa Rae Brittain live now?

Her exact current location has not been publicly confirmed. After her divorce, she relocated to Anderson, Alaska, and she has kept her life private ever since.