Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of opioid addiction.
Mike Wolfe recently opened up about the final years of his late friend, Frank Fritz, revealing to People that his American Pickers co-star privately battled an opioid addiction that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually resulted in the show moving on without him.
As The Ashley previously reported, Mike revealed on social media in October that Frank had passed away on September 30 at the age of 60. According to Frank’s rep, the ‘American Pickers’ star died from effects of his 2022 stroke. The rep also pointed to Crohn’s disease– which Frank had lived with for decades– as possibly contributing to the reality star’s early death.
In 2021, it was announced that ‘American Pickers’ would be moving on without Frank, reportedly due to Frank dealing with health issues related to Crohn’s disease, as well as a back injury that required surgery. While Mike doesn’t deny that his longtime friend dealt with health issues around the time that he exited the History Channel show, he claims that Frank was also dealing with a much larger issue: addiction.
“Here’s the deal, I don’t have the right to tell his story– only he does,” Mike said in an interview with People. “But I do have, I feel, the right to tell the personal story of how myself and so many people struggled to navigate what was going on in his life.”
Mike said he and Frank were both dealing with “relationships that were falling apart” during the pandemic, and around this time is when Frank also injured his back and had to undergo surgery. According to Mike, the time off from filming ‘American Pickers’ resulted in “the perfect storm” that led to Frank’s addiction.
“He became addicted to opioids and that’s when everything changed,” Mike told the outlet.
Mike said that while he and some of Frank’s loved ones went on to stage an intervention for Frank, he ran into Frank a month later and, despite Frank insisting that he was “really fine,” Mike knew his friend was still struggling with his addiction.
“Watching Frank doing some of the things that he was doing, it was really hard,” he recalled.
Once filming for ‘American Pickers’ began again, Mike said he “fought really hard” to get Frank into rehab and “never, ever gave up” on his friend; however, when production asked that Frank provide them with negative drug tests, Frank was unable to do so, at which point the network made the decision to part ways with the longtime co-host.
“They’re just like, ‘Listen, we have to move on. We have to keep going with this,’” Mike said, admitting he had “mixed feelings” about the show moving on without Frank. “ … we were just trying to figure out what we were going to do.”
As fans of ‘American Pickers’ may recall, Frank opened up in July 2021 about seeking treatment for alcohol abuse, revealing at the time that he and Mike hadn’t spoken in two years. While Mike admits he put some distance between himself and Frank around this time, he insists the two “never disconnected.”
“I stepped away for a little because I was watching what he was doing, but I still fought for him to go to rehab and I still had those conversations,” he said. “I never stepped away from him completely. That would be impossible for me to do. But I watched all of it unfold. I tried to help him as best as I could, and we did speak.”
Mike admitted that Frank’s comments about their friendship in 2021 were hurtful; however, he said he was able to easily forgive his friend and the two eventually came together for a “beautiful” reunion.
“I know how judgmental the public can be,” Mike said. “And so that’s why when we did end up speaking again, it was so easy for me to forgive him because I knew it wasn’t him talking. It was his addiction talking.”
Fans of ‘American Pickers’ may remember Mike taking to social media in July 2022 after Frank suffered a stroke, asking followers for prayers and well wishes for his friend of more than 40 years.
When announcing Frank’s death last month on Instagram, Mike reflected on the long friendship the two shared both on- and off-camera, calling Frank “a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny.”
“Who would have ever dreamed we would share the cockpit of a white cargo van in front of millions of people interested in our adventures,” he wrote. “ … We’ve been on countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home.
“I love you buddy and I will miss you so much I know [you’re] in a better place,” Mike continued.
RELATED STORY: Mike Wolfe Announces His Longtime ‘American Pickers’ Co-Host Frank Fritz Has Died at Age 60
(Photos: The History Channel; Instagram)
