Mike Wolfe held Frank Fritz's hand as 'American Pickers' co-star took his last breath

"American Pickers" star Mike Wolfe opened up 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 who co-hosted the History Channel series for 10 years and had known each other for more than 40 years. 

The two had a falling-out and Fritz stepped away from the show during its 21st season in 2020. However, they were able to mend their friendship before Fritz died from complications of a stroke at the age of 60 in September.

In an interview with People magazine, Wolfe recalled how he rushed to be by Fritz's side before his death.

 "I got the call that he wasn't doing well. I just feel blessed that I was able to get there," Wolfe said.

He continued, "I was there for about an hour before he passed, and I was holding his hand and rubbing his chest when he took his last breath. I took my fingers and I closed his eyes."

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Wolfe told the outlet that he was joined at his late friend's bedside by his mother and Fritz's late mother's best friend Annette, and recalled the heartfelt final words he shared with Fritz before his death. 

"I just told him that I wasn't mad at him and that I loved him and that I cared about him so much," Wolfe said. "And then when I could see that he was struggling, I just said, 'Just go find your mom. Go find her right now. Just go find her.'"

During his interview with People, Wolfe also reflected on his relationship with Fritz, the rift that came between them and how they buried the hatchet.

Wolfe recalled that he and Fritz met while they were in middle school in Iowa and struck up a friendship. 

"He was an extremely hard worker. He was like no one I'd ever met in my whole life," Wolfe remembered.

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 green-lit by A&E Networks and Fritz joined Wolfe as his co-star in "American Pickers," which became an instant hit when it premiered on the History Channel in January 2010.

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"He was a lot like he was on camera," Wolfe recalled of Fritz. "He was very sensitive. He was very caring. He was extremely funny. His sense of comedic timing was unbelievable." 

"Actually, the crew and myself would always tell him that he should do stand-up because he was always very self-deprecating," he added.

"He was one of those guys, no matter who we talked to, he could always make people feel comfortable and let them know that they're being heard."

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 battled alcoholism before leaving "American Pickers" and said he hadn't "talked to Mike in two years."

"He knew my back was messed up, but he didn’t call me up and ask how I was doing," Fritz said of Wolfe. "That’s just how it is."

Fritz also told that outlet that he believed "American Pickers" was "tilted towards him [Wolfe] 1,000%.."

"I can’t even bend that far down to show you how much," he added. "I’m second and he’s number one on the show."

"There was a lot of noise. That's a nice way to put it," Wolfe told People of Fritz's interview with The Sun. "This is so hard for me to talk about, because there were a lot of things that were said that weren't true, and I always continued to pray for him. But unfortunately, the things that we want for someone... sometimes [it'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 like the perfect storm," Wolfe said. "He became addicted to opioids, and that's when everything changed."

Wolfe said that he tried to help Fritz a number of times during his battle with addiction. He told People that he staged an intervention for Fritz with his late co-star's family and other close friends.

Wolfe said he ran into Fritz about a month after the intervention. "He said he was just going to 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 like a month later, he was gone," he says. "And so watching Frank doing some of the things that he was doing, it was really hard."

Wolfe said that he still "fought really hard" to convince Fritz to enter rehab and "never, ever gave up" on his friend.

During this time, Wolfe recalled that production on "American Pickers" resumed. Wolfe told People that the "network just finally made the decision" to proceed without Fritz because he couldn't provide negative drug tests.

"They're just like, ‘Listen, we have to move on. We have to keep going with this,'" Wolfe said. "I had mixed emotions about doing that... and we were just trying to figure out what we were going to do."

Wolfe said that he struggled with feeling like "the last man standing" after Fritz's departure from the show.

"I was just kind of left to fend for myself in a lot of ways. I could finish his sentences. He could finish my sentences," he says. "I'm a left-handed person, but with him I felt ambidextrous."

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives for A&E Networks for comment.

Wolfe compared his rift with Fritz to "losing a brother," telling People, "And that's why it was so hard to hear him say the things that he said."

"I just wish that he didn't have to deal with all of those things in the shadows," he added. "We can tell him how much we love him, and that we support him and we're encouraging him, [but] he could just never get it back together."

Despite their falling-out, Wolfe told People that he and Fritz "never disconnected."

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"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.

Wolfe continued, "And everybody was like, 'Well, when his back is better... and I'm like, 'It's not his back. That's one thing, but we need to help heal him, because he needs us right now.'"

"I never stepped away from him completely," he added. "That would be impossible for me to do. But I watched all of it unfold. I tried to help him as best I could, and we did speak."

However, Wolfe said that he and Fritz later had an emotional reconciliation.

"It was beautiful," Wolfe recalled. "He was struggling with addiction. I know how judgmental the public can be. 

He continued, "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."

Wolfe told People that there were conversations about Fritz's potential return to "American Pickers" after they mended their rift.

In 2022, Fritz suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Wolfe told People he knew then that an on-screen reunion with Fritz "wasn't ever going to happen" due to his former co-star's health struggles.

However, Wolfe said that their friendship remained strong until Fritz's death.

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"Once he had the stroke and he went into a facility, I saw him so many times and I was able to speak to him very candidly, and very lovingly, about everything that I ever wanted to say to him," Wolfe recalled.

When asked how he wanted Fritz to be remembered, Wolfe said, "He was a beautiful, beautiful person that, to be honest with you, who knows what our lives would've been like if there was never a show."

"I just want people to know who he was," Wolfe added.

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