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‘American Pickers’ star Mike Wolfe says he held Frank Fritz’s hand “American Pickers” star Mike Wolfe talks about his final moments with Frank Fritz before his late co-star’s death.
The 60-year-old TV personality and Fritz were childhood friends, co-hosted the History Channel series for 10 years and knew each other for more than 40 years.
The two had a falling out and Fritz departed the show in 2020 during its 21st season. However, they were able to repair their friendship before Fritz died from complications of a stroke in September at the age of 60.
in an interview with people magazine, Wolfe recalled how he rushed to visit Fritz before he died.
“I got the call that he wasn’t feeling well. I feel blessed that I was able to get there,” Wolfe said.
“American Pickers” star Mike Wolfe recalls his final moments with his late co-star Frank Fritz. (Nielsen Barnard/Getty Images)
He added, “I was there for about an hour before he passed away and when he took his last breath I was holding his hand and rubbing his chest. I lifted my fingers and I closed his eyes.”
‘American Pickers’ stars Frank Fritz, Mike Wolfe buried before host’s death after years of drama
Wolfe told the outlet that he was joined by his mother and Fritz’s late mother’s best friend Annette at his late friend’s bedside, and he recalled the heartfelt last words he shared with Fritz before his death.
“I just told her I wasn’t mad at her and I loved her and I cared about her a lot,” Wolfe said. “And then when I saw he was struggling, I just said, ‘Go find your mom. Go find her right now. Just go and find her.'”
During her interview with People, Wolfe also reflected on her relationship with Fritz, the rift between them, and how they overcame their differences.
Fritz died last month at the age of 60 of complications from a stroke. (Getty Images)
Wolfe recalled that he and Fritz met and became friends when they were in middle school in Iowa.
Wolfe recalled, “He was extremely hard-working. He was like no one I’d ever met in my entire life.”
Wolfe told the outlet that Fritz was the only person who supported him when he came up with the idea for “American Pickers.”
The reality show was eventually greenlit by A&E Networks and Fritz joined Wolfe as her co-star on “American Pickers”, which became an instant hit when it premiered on the History Channel in January 2010.
Wolfe recalled Fritz, “He was pretty much the same as he looked on camera.” “He was very sensitive. He was very caring. He was extremely funny. His sense of comedic timing was incredible.”
He added, “Actually, Crews and I were always telling him he should do stand-up because he was always so self-deprecating.”
“He was one of those guys that, no matter who we talked to, he always made people feel comfortable and let them know they were being heard.”
Wolfe and Fritz co-hosted “American Pickers” for 10 years. (Getty Images)
However, rumors of a feud between the co-hosts began to swirl when Fritz suddenly stopped appearing on “American Pickers” in 2020.
In a 2021 interview with The Sun, Fritz revealed that he had struggled with alcohol addiction before leaving “American Pickers” and said that he “hadn’t talked to Mike in two years.”
Fritz said of Wolfe, “He knew I had a bad back, but he didn’t call me and ask how I was.” “That’s just the way it is.”
Fritz also told the outlet that he believed “American Pickers” was “leaning toward [Wolfe] 1,000%.”
He added, “I can’t even stoop low enough to show you how much I can stoop.” “I’m number two on the show and he’s number one.”
“There was a lot of noise. That’s a nice way of saying it,” Wolff said in People of the Fritz’s interview with The Sun. “It’s very hard for me to talk about, because a lot of things were said that weren’t true, and I always prayed for her. But unfortunately, the things we wish for someone…ever -Sometimes [it’s] There’s just not enough, and they have to want these things for themselves.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wolfe told People that Fritz had to undergo surgery after injuring his back.
“With that time off and him having surgery, it was just a whirlwind,” Wolfe said. “He became addicted to opioids and that’s when everything changed.”
Wolfe said he tried to help Fritz several times during his battle with addiction. She told People that she staged an intervention for the Fritz with her late co-star’s family and other close friends.
Fritz suddenly stopped appearing on the show in 2020. (This is the chance/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Wolfe said he met with Fritz about a month after the intervention. “He said he’d handle everything on his own, and I asked him how he was doing. He said, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine. No, I’m really fine,'” Wolfe recalled. .
“And then a month later, he’s gone,” he says. “And so watching Frank do some of the things that he was doing was really hard.”
Wolfe said he still “fought hard” to convince Fritz to enter rehab and “never gave up” on his friend.
During this time, Wolfe recalled that “American Pickers” resumed production. Wolfe told People that “the network ultimately decided to move forward without Fritz” because he could not provide a negative drug test.
“They’re just like, ‘Listen, we’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to keep this going,'” Wolfe said. “I had mixed feelings about doing it…and we were just trying to figure out what we were going to do.”
Wolfe said he struggled with feeling like “the last man standing” after Fritz left the show.
He says, “I was left to defend myself in many ways. I could have completed his sentence. He could have completed my sentence.” “I’m left-handed, but with her I felt confused.”
There was a rift between the two but later they mended their friendship. (Photo by Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic)
Wolfe compared her rift with Fritz to “losing a brother”, telling People, “And that’s why the things he said were so hard to hear.”
“I just wish she didn’t have to deal with all those things in the shadows,” he said. “We can tell him how much we love him, and that we’re supporting him and encouraging him, [but] He never got it back.”
Despite their differences, Wolfe told People that he and Fritz “were never separated.”
He said, “I stepped away for a while because I saw what he was going through, but I still fought for him to get into rehab and we still had that conversation.”
Wolfe continued, “And everyone was like, ‘Okay, when his back gets better… And I’m like, ‘It’s not his back. That’s one thing, but we need to get him better. There is a need to help, because he needs us right now.
“I never completely moved away from them,” he said. “It would be impossible for me to do that. But I saw it all happen. I tried to help her as best I could and we talked.”
Wolfe was with Fritz when his friend died. (Getty Images)
However, Wolfe said that he and Fritz later had an emotional reconciliation.
“It was beautiful,” Wolfe recalled. “He struggled with drug addiction. I know how judgmental the public can be.”
She added, “And that’s why when we ended up talking again, it was very easy for me to forgive him because I knew it wasn’t him talking. It was his addiction.”
Wolfe tells People that there were talks about Fritz’s possible return to “American Pickers” after mending their differences.
In 2022, Fritz suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. Wolfe told People that she knew then that an on-screen reunion with Fritz was “never going to happen” due to her former co-star’s health struggles.
However, Wolfe said that their friendship remained strong until Fritz’s death.
Wolfe recalled, “Once he had a stroke and went into a facility, I saw him several times and I was able to talk to him very candidly, and very lovingly, about everything that was going on. What I wanted to say to them.”
When asked how he wanted Fritz to be remembered, Wolfe said, “He was a beautiful, beautiful man, to be honest with you, who knows what our lives would have been if there had never been a show. How would it have been?”
