American Pickers' Mike Wolfe held Frank Fritz's hand as he died (exclusive)

When American pickers When star Mike Wolfe calls from his home in Tennessee, he takes a deep breath before describing his late best friend Frank Fritz.

Fritz was the cool kid in high school, a homeowner at 19 – and the centerpiece of her fan-favorite History Channel show. “He was almost like he was in front of the camera. He was very sensitive. He was very caring. He was extremely funny. His sense of comedic timing was incredible,” says the 60-year-old Wolfe with a laugh. “Actually, the crew and I always told him that he should do stand-up because he was always very self-deprecating.”

“He was one of those guys, no matter who we talked to, he could always make people feel comfortable and let them know they were being listened to,” he continues, noting how they bonded , because they were dealt similar cards in life.

Fritz and Wolfe – who first met in middle school – had both grown up without fathers, and the difficulties they faced while “going through life” brought them closer together.

“He was an extremely hard worker. He was like no one I had ever met in my life,” Wolfe says.

When Wolfe first had the idea to pitch American pickersOn a reality show that spanned 15 seasons, Fritz was the only person who “didn't make fun of me,” he recalls.

Despite the critics in their small Iowa town, Fritz believed they were on the precipice of something big. In 2010, the first season aired on History Channel – and her life changed forever.

But fame and success brought unexpected challenges. In a 2021 interview with The sunFritz announced that he had sought treatment for alcohol abuse before his departure American pickers. He also claimed that he hadn't spoken to Wolfe in two years and admitted that he felt like he was in “second place” while Wolfe was considered “No. 2” in the show's eyes. 1” applied.

“There was a lot of noise. That's a nice way to put it,” Wolfe says of Fritz's headline-making interview. “It's so hard for me to talk about it because a lot of things were said that weren't true and I kept praying for him. But unfortunately, the things we want for someone…sometimes.” [it’s] just not enough, and they must want these things for themselves.”

During the pandemic, Wolfe and Fritz both experienced “relationships falling apart,” he says. Around the same time, Fritz injured his back while moving some things at home and had to undergo surgery.

“With that time off and his surgery, it was like the perfect storm,” Wolfe says cautiously. “He became addicted to opioids and that’s when everything changed.”

“Here’s the deal,” he continues, protecting his late friend. “I don’t have the right to tell his story – only he does. But I think I have the right to tell the personal story of how I and so many people struggled to come to terms with what was going on in his life.”

Wolfe recalls several attempts to help Frank in the midst of his addiction problems. He staged an intervention with Fritz's family members and other people who loved him.

“I remember meeting him about a month later. He said he would just handle everything on his own and I asked him how he was doing. He said, 'I'm fine. I'm doing well. No, me.' I'm doing really well.' And then about a month later he was gone,” he says. “And so it was really hard to watch Frank do some of the things that he did.”

When filming resumed, Wolfe knew his friend was still struggling with addiction and had “fought really hard to get him into rehab,” he says, emphasizing that he “never gave up” on Fritz. have.

However, when production asked for negative drug tests, Fritz was unable to provide them.

“The network just finally made the decision,” Wolfe says. “They just say, ‘Listen, we have to move on. We have to get on with it.' I had mixed feelings about it…and we were just trying to figure out what we were going to do.

After Fritz left the show, Wolfe felt like “the last man standing,” he remembers.

“I was just on my own in a lot of ways. I was able to finish his sentences. He could finish my sentences,” he says. “I’m left-handed, but he made me feel ambidextrous.”

Losing the friendship with Fritz back then was like “losing a brother,” says Wolfe. “And that’s why it was so hard to hear him say the things he said.”

Although Fritz's words were hurtful, Wolfe knew they came from pain: “I just wish he didn't have to deal with all these things in the shadows… We can tell him how much we love him and that we support him and give him courage, [but] He just could never get it together again.

Wolfe admits there was a falling out between the longtime friends, but now insists they “never broke up.”

“I stepped back for a while 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 says. “And everyone said, 'Well, if his back gets better… and I thought, 'It's not his back. That's one thing, but we have to help him heal because he needs us now.'”

“I never completely moved away from him. That would have been impossible for me. But I watched it all unfold. I tried to help him as best I could and we talked,” he says.

After some time, the two finally reunited in an emotional reunion marked by lots of hugs, tears and laughter.

“It was beautiful. He struggled with his addiction. I know how biased the public can be. And that's why it was so easy for me to forgive him when we talked again at the end, because I knew it wasn't him talking.” “It was his addiction,” says Wolfe.

There was even talk of Fritz rejoining the show. But in 2022, he was hospitalized after a “really bad stroke” – and Wolfe knew his return was “never going to happen.”

Fritz's health never recovered and on September 30th he died at the age of 60 from complications of a stroke. When he took his last breath, Wolfe, his mother and Annette, Fritz's late mother's best friend, were at his side.

“I got the call that he wasn’t feeling well. I just feel blessed that I was able to get there,” Wolfe said. “I was there for about an hour before he died and I held his hand and rubbed his chest as he took his last breath. I took my fingers and closed his eyes.”

In their final moments together, “I just told him that I wasn't mad at him and that I loved him and that he was so important to me,” Wolfe says. “And then when I saw that he was having problems, I just said, 'Just go find your mother. Go look for her immediately. Just go look for her.'”

The goodbye was heartbreaking, but Wolfe finds comfort in knowing they stuck together until the end.

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“After he had the stroke and was admitted to a facility, I saw him so many times and was able to talk to him very openly and lovingly about everything I ever wanted to say to him,” he says.

When it comes to how he wants people to remember his late best friend, Wolfe wants the world to focus on the joy that Fritz brought to fans.

“He was a beautiful, beautiful human being who, to be honest, if there had never been a show, who knows what our lives would have been like,” Wolfe says. “I just want people to know who he was.”