American Pickers star Frank Fritz’s battle with Crohn’s & broken back ‘led to painkiller addiction’
American Pickers star Frank Fritz’s battle with Crohn’s & broken back ‘led to painkiller addiction’
American Pickers star Mike Wolfe revealed his late co-star Frank Fritz battled an opioid addiction before he suffered a stroke in July 2022. Frank passed away on September 30th at the age of 60, two years after he suffered the stroke.
Frank last appeared on American Pickers in March 2020 before taking time off to undergo back surgery. Despite Frank expressing his desire to return to the show, Mike announced he was officially fired from the series in 2021. Mike set the record straight on what really led to the fan-favorite’s firing and revealed Frank’s battle with addiction in an interview with People magazine.
Mike explained how Frank underwent back surgery during the pandemic. “With that time off and him having surgery, it was like the perfect storm. He became addicted to opioids, and that’s when everything changed,” Mike told the outlet.
Mike and Frank’s loved ones staged an intervention to help him during his addiction struggles, but Frank wanted to handle everything on his own. Mike claims Frank continued to struggle with addiction when filming started back up. When production asked Frank for negative drug tests, he was unable to provide them. Mike also said that the network made the decision to let Frank go, despite his mixed emotions about it.
A source exclusively gave The US Sun more insight into how Frank’s substance abuse battle began. The insider explained that due to Frank’s battle with Crohn’s disease, he was on medication that left his bones weak. When he broke his back, he needed to undergo surgery, and that’s when he became addicted to pain medication.
The source claimed that Frank went to rehab twice to combat his addiction issues. He got out, but then he suffered the stroke. In a 2021 interview with The US Sun, Frank revealed he entered treatment for alcohol abuse for 77 days. Frank said at the time, “I went to rehab and I’ve been sober now for 11 months. I didn’t like drinking anymore. My mother was an alcoholic, and she died five years ago, and it was alcohol-related. My grandfather was an alcoholic, and he died. That didn’t sit well with me.” Frank went to meetings twice a week when he got out of treatment.
If it weren’t for a relapse, Frank would have been sober for a year at the time of the interview. Frank said of the relapse, “The next day, I went to a meeting, and I got right back on track. I don’t think I’ll ever drink again because I didn’t like the feeling anymore and some of the dumb things that I did.” Frank added, “I’d still like to get back to my job. I miss my friends, my people, and being on the road and meeting all those different characters.”
During Frank’s 2021 interview with The US Sun, he also spoke about his feud with longtime co-star and friend Mike. Frank said at the time, “I haven’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. That’s just how it is. The show is tilted towards him 1,000%. I can’t even bend that far down to show you how much. That’s fine. It’s like you’ve got Aerosmith, and there’s Steven Tyler, and he’s the frontman. I found my spot. I’m second, and he’s number one on the show.”
The two did reconcile, as Mike told People, “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.”
In July 2022, Frank suffered a stroke at his Iowa farmhouse. Frank’s close friends filed a guardianship and conservatorship for him soon after because his decision-making capacity was severely impaired.
Mike told People of Frank’s final days, “I got the call that he wasn’t doing well. I just feel blessed that I was able to get there. 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.”
Mike remembered his friend, saying, “He was an extremely hard worker. He was like no one I’d ever met in my whole life.”
Frank’s close friend, Jerry Genu, wished fans would have seen the two come back together on the show. He previously told The US Sun, “I wish everything could have come around and ended with one season of them reconciling.”
