“American Pickers” co-star Mike Wolfe’s girlfriend swatted away hateful rumors about his relationship with longtime friend Frank Fritz who died this week at the age of 60 after suffering a debilitating stroke in 2022.
Wolfe’s girlfriend, Leticia Cline, set the record straight on Instagram concerning the close friendship between the co-stars. She strongly denied rumors that the two men were fighting leading up to Friz’s passing.
“For the past 3 years I have been a witness to how Mike has done everything possible to make sure Frank has had the best care,” she asserted. “It’s been hard to be silent while rumors spread untruths and foster hate but instead of wasting energy defending himself, he’s spent that time on phone calls and in person with Frank and his caregivers including being by his side as he took his last breath last night.”
“I never got to meet Frank but have been able to know him through the countless stories Mike has told me about their adventures together before and after the show. I’m so proud of the grace and resilience Mike has had during these years and how he has never let it come between the bond of friendship. Frank will be missed by so many,” she added.
(Video Credit: The Sun Showbiz)
“The two men, alongside Danielle Colby-Cushman, starred in the popular show, which follows the team as they scour the country for forgotten gems in junkyards, basements, and garages and recycle and renovate them while meeting quirky characters along the way,” Newsweek recapped.
“Fritz died, aged 60, on Monday. While his cause of death has not yet been disclosed, his health took a huge hit in 2022 after he suffered a stroke that left him needing a wheelchair. He had also suffered with Crohn’s disease — a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the digestive tract—for several decades,” the outlet noted.
Wolfe’s brother Rob also defended him in an interview in September with the Daily Mail. He vehemently denied that there was a rift between them.
“We’re in contact with him. The crew and I go up and see him,” Rob Wolfe said referencing Fritz. “It’s kind of hard to talk about Frank in general because he can’t really talk about it for himself. My brother sees him more than I do.”
At the time he said that Fritz was doing well but just couldn’t go out in the general public because he was wheelchair bound.
“Frank and I have been friends since sixth grade, and you know we used to travel a lot together. We would go to the lacrosse, we would go to Oktoberfest, those were the fun times. Those are the memories I have of him,” Rob Wolfe recalled.
REST IN PEACE: Frank Fritz, known as part of the original “American Pickers” duo, has died.
Co-star Mike Wolfe shared the sad news in a post on Instagram Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/VCZbpkPVpj
— KMOV (@KMOV) October 1, 2024
Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz had a falling out in 2020 after Fritz took a break from American Pickers to spend time recovering from back surgery. They had since made up with one another in 2023.
“It’s with a broken heart that I share with all of you that Frank passed away last night,” Mike Wolfe wrote on Oct. 1.
“I’ve known Frank for more than half my life and what you’ve seen on TV has always been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny. The same off-camera as he was on, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself,” he sadly recalled.
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“Who would have ever dreamed we would share the cockpit of a white cargo van in front of millions of people interested in our adventures? Before the show we would take off together to places we never knew existed with no destination in mind and just the shared passion to discover something interesting and historic,” Wolfe reminisced.
“We’ve been on countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home. I love you buddy and will miss you so much I know you’re in a better place,” he said saying goodbye to his longtime friend.
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