MINUTES AGO! American Pickers Frank Fritz & Mike Wolfe Drops Breaking News! Tragic News

As a result of Mike Wolf’s revelation of the true cause for his late co-star Frank Fritz’s dismissal from the series, the ratings for the fourth episode of American Pickers have slipped to their lowest point of the season.

Beginning on October 9, the opening of the 26th season of American Pickers featured Robbie Wolf, Mike, who is 59 years old, as well as John “Jersey John” Chalet and Danielle Colby.

Given that the episode that aired on October 30th received the lowest ratings since the show’s premiere, ratings have been poor in comparison to those of previous seasons.

In the episode titled “The DeLorean,” when Mike and Jersey John go hog wild for a four-generation Carney collection complete with carousel horses, toy tanks, and bumper cars, only 442,000 viewers tuned in to see the episode as Mike went through numerous pieces of vintage memorabilia.

The first episode attracted a total of 565,000 viewers, while just 463,000 viewers tuned in to watch the second episode of the season, which was broadcast on October 16th. This marks a decline of more than 100,000 viewers in just one week.

There was a slight increase in the number of viewers that tuned in to watch the third episode of Season 26, which was titled “The Great Ruli.” However, when compared to the ratings from Season 25, the ratings for the current season are quite low.

The launch of the first episode of Season 25, which consisted of two episodes and took place in December 2023, attracted a total of 723,000 viewers. The second episode attracted 676,000 followers, and the third episode captured the attention of 880,000 people. By the time the program aired on January 24, viewership had increased to 948,000.

Throughout the majority of February, the numbers continued to decline, with the lowest number of viewers coming on February 14 with 774,000, and the highest number coming on February 28th with 966,000, respectively. 83,000 viewers tuned in to watch the season finale on March 27.

During the time when Frank was a guest on the show, the audience count exceeded 1 million.

Frank had his most recent appearance in March of 2020 after undergoing back surgery. He decided to leave the series, and Mike made the announcement in 2021 that Frank would not be returning.

During an interview in 2021 with The United States Sun, Frank said that he was engaged in a rivalry with his co-star Mike. When asked about it at the time, Frank stated: “I haven’t talked to Mike in 2 years. Despite the fact that he was aware that my back was infected, he did not call me to inquire about how I was doing. But that is the way things are. Everything is stacked in his favor 100% of the time.”

For the sake of demonstrating how much he couldn’t even bend down that far, Frank continued: “The situation is similar to that of Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler serving as the front man for the band. I found my place on the show. I’m currently in second place just behind him. I don’t have a problem with it, but it’s possible that he does have a problem.”

After that, Frank stated that it would be difficult to put the show on after not talking to someone for 2 years. “I’m just trying to get through life like everybody else and be as happy as I possibly can,” he added.

Frank continued, expressing his thoughts: “What you put into life is what creates it. One does not gain a lot out of something if they do not put a lot of effort into it.”

Mike disclosed the reason why Frank did not return to the History Channel series in an interview with People magazine. While shifting things around his home in Iowa during the epidemic, Frank sustained an injury to his back that required surgery. He detailed how this happened: “It was like the perfect storm with him having surgery and having that time off.”

One person said when Frank developed an addiction to opioids, it was the moment when everything began to change. Mike explained, “I remember running into him like a month later.” In response to Frank’s statement that he was going to manage things on his own, Mike inquired about his current state of well-being. Frank confirmed, “I’m all right. I am doing well. In fact, I’m doing very well.”

Approximately one month later, Frank vanished without a trace. Mike stated that watching Frank do some of the things he was doing was difficult.

However, Mike asserted that Frank continued to suffer with addiction even after filming began, stating, “We fought really hard to get him into rehab.” Despite negative drug tests from Frank, he did not give them. Mike made the statement that the network just finally made the decision, despite the fact that he had mixed emotions about doing that.

In spite of the feud and the firing, the two eventually reconciled. Mike stated of the reunion, “It was beautiful. His battle with addiction was a difficult one. I am aware of the fact that the general public can be very critical. Consequently, this is the reason why it was so simple for me to forgive him when we did wind up speaking again, since I was aware that it was not him who was speaking—his addiction was the one who was speaking.”

The beginning of Frank’s struggle with substance misuse was allegedly revealed by a source to The United States Sun. As a result of Frank’s struggle with Crohn’s disease, he was taking medication that caused his bones to become fragile. Surgical intervention was required for him after he suffered a broken back. It was at that time that The Insider asserted that he developed an addiction to pain medications.

Crohn’s disease is characterized by inflammation in the digestive tract. According to the testimony of the source, Frank went to rehab twice in order to address his addiction problems. It was after he had left that he suffered a stroke.

According to The Insider, during an interview with The United States Sun in July 2021, Frank disclosed that he had been receiving treatment for alcohol misuse at the Avy Center in Bendorf, Iowa for a period of 77 days. At the time of the interview, he had been clean and sober for 11 months.

On the other hand, Frank experienced a stroke at his farmhouse in Iowa about a year later in July of 2022. A guardianship and conservatorship petition was submitted on Frank’s behalf by his close friends, not long after that, on the grounds that his decision-making capacity was so impaired.

On September 30, 2024, at the age of 60, Frank passed away under hospice care.

During Frank’s final moments, Mike spoke with People: “I received a phone call informing me that he was not doing well. The fact that I was able to make it there strikes me as a blessing. I was there for around 1 hour before he passed away. When he took his final breath, I was holding his hand and rubbing his chest. I took my fingers and I closed his eyes.”

“He was an extremely hard worker,” Mike said about his friend, describing him: “He was unlike anyone else I had ever encountered in my entire life. He was a beautiful, beautiful person who, to tell you the truth, who knows what our lives would have been like if there had never been a show? He was a beautiful person. It is only that I want people to be aware of who he was.”