By now, if you are an American Pickers fan, you probably already know that the band has broken up. While American Pickers has just been Mike Wolfe and Danielle Colby for awhile, Frank Fritz had hoped to come back to the History series, that is until Wolfe confirmed he’d be continuing on solo (ish). Now, however, Fritz has responded to Wolfe’s statement, and basically says he feels it is baloney.
Recently, Wolfe penned an official statement that he shared to social media in which he talked about fond memories from the past with Frank Fritz, also noting he would be moving forward without the actor on the series. He said:
I have known Frank for as long as I can remember, he’s been like a brother to me. The journey that Frank, Dani and I started back in 2009, like all of life, has come with its highs and lows, blessings and challenges, but it has also been the most rewarding. ... I will miss Frank, just like all of you, and I pray for the very best and all good things for him on the next part of his journey.
Now, Frank Fritz says this statement is nonsense and is even speculating that someone else wrote it for his co-star. In an interview with The Sun, he is alleging that the whole statement is carefully crafted nonsense and that Wolfe is not a particularly nice person.
Mike’s statement was bullshit, somebody wrote it out for him. We never were friends in grade school. I don’t believe in ten years he’s said five nice things to me, you know?Unless he was cutting somebody else down and we were both laughing.
Frank Fritz has been particularly open about his feelings regarding his exit from American Pickers in recent weeks. He’s done several interviews with the tabloids that included revealing he’d dealt with painful back surgery, rehab, and getting sober in the time since he took a leave of absence from the reality series. He’s also claimed Mike Wolfe has not spoken to him in over two years. This time around he also mentioned the fact the reality star never bothered to call him made him feel like "a number."
He knows I hurt my back, everyone in the whole network knew I hurt my back, but did one person - just one - call and see how I was? No.So how does that make you feel? It makes you feel like you’re just a number. It was like ‘Oh you hurt your back? Well life goes on, you know. Fuck you.
Following statements such as these, Mike Wolfe made the aforementioned statement committing American Pickers to moving on without Fritz. Other Pickers co-star Danielle Colby sent out a message in support of Wolfe and specifically seems to be bothered by how the whole narrative has played out publicly, as she noted on her own Instagram post about the situation:
I have many thoughts but won’t speak them as they are only my my thoughts, not gospel. I wish things could have been different but we must be accountable for our actions when we cause instability or pain and suffering to others. Frank caused so much pain for himself that it has been hard to watch. I truly hope Frank receives all the help he needs to become well after years of being unwell. It is not my place to speak Ill of someone who needs help so I will keep my comments uplifting.
The reality star was the one who initially left the series of his own accord, in order to deal with lingering personal issues and health issues. The show was put into a situation where it needed to film without him, and apparently History and the rest of the production team felt things went well. Now it’s been well over a year since he has appeared on TV, and Colby and Wolfe have already begun filming the next set of American Pickers episodes without him. The show has already moved on and moved forward, but it seems as if Frank Fritz still has things he wants to say.
