article

“American collectors” Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz attend the grand opening of the History Pop Shop at History Pop Shop on December 6, 2010 in New York City. (Photo: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic)

“American Selectors” star Mike Wolfe He talked about the last moments he spent with Frank Fritz before his co-star’s death.

The 60-year-old TV personality and Fritz were childhood friends who 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 left the show during its 21st season in 2020. But they managed to repair their friendship before Fritz died of complications from a stroke in September at the age of 60.

In an interview with people magazine, Wolfe remembered how he rushed to be with Fritz before he died.

“I got a call that he wasn’t doing well. I feel lucky I was able to get there,” Wolfe said.

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

‘AMERICAN SELECTORS’ STARS FRANK FRITZ, MIKE WOLFE BURIED THE PRESENTER WITH THE AX BEFORE HE DIED AFTER YEARS OF DRAMA

Wolfe told the press 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 had previously shared with Fritz. his death.

“I just told him that I wasn’t mad at him, that I loved him and cared about him very much,” Wolfe said. “Then when I saw her struggling, I said, ‘Go find your mother. Go find her now. Go find her.'”

In his interview with People, Wolfe also discussed his relationship with Fritz, the rift between them and how they buried the hatchet.

Wolfe recalled that he and Fritz met when they were in middle school in Iowa and formed a friendship.

“He was an extremely hard worker. He was unlike anyone I’ve ever met in my life,” Wolfe recalled.

Wolfe told the press that Fritz was the only person who supported him when he came up with the idea for “American Pickers.”

The reality show was eventually greenlit by A&E Networks and Fritz joined Wolfe. his co-star In “American Pickers,” which became an instant hit when it premiered on the History Channel in January 2010.

‘AMERICAN SELECTORS’ FOUND AND FIXED AEROSMITH’S 1970’S TOUR VAN

“He looked a lot like the one on camera,” Wolfe recalled of Fritz. “He was so sensitive. He was so caring. He was extremely funny. His comedic timing was incredible.”

“Actually, the team and I would always tell him that he should do stand-up because he was always so self-deprecating,” he added.

“No matter who we talked to, he was one of those guys, he could always put people at ease and make them feel like their voices were heard.”

However, rumors of a fight between the co-hosts began to circulate when Fritz suddenly stopped appearing on “American Pickers” in 2020.

In a 2021 interview with The Sun, Fritz revealed that he struggled with alcoholism before leaving “American Pickers” and said he “hadn’t spoken to Mike in two years.”

“He knew my back was bad, but he didn’t call me and ask how I was doing,” Fritz said of Wolfe. “That’s it.”

Fritz also told this outlet that he believes “American Pickers” is “1000% geared towards him (Wolfe).”

“I can’t even bend over that far to show you how much,” he added. “I’m second and he’s number one in the show.”

“There was a lot of noise. That’s a nice way to put it,” Wolfe said in an interview with People of Fritz’s The Sun. “It’s very hard for me to talk about it because a lot of things were said that weren’t true and I always kept praying for him. But unfortunately the things we want for someone… sometimes (it’s) not enough and they have to ask for those things for themselves.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wolfe told People that Fritz had to have surgery after injuring his back.

“That time off and him having surgery was like the perfect storm,” Wolfe said. “He got addicted to opioids, and that’s when everything changed.”

Wolfe said he tried to help Fritz many times during his tenure. struggle with addiction. He told People that he held an intervention for Fritz with his late co-star’s family and other close friends.

Wolfe said he encountered Fritz about a month after the intervention. “He said he would handle everything on his own, and I asked him how he was. He said, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine. No, I’m really fine,'” Wolfe recalled.

“And like a month later, he was gone,” he says. “And it was really hard to watch Frank do some of the things he did.”

Wolfe said he was still “fighting really hard” to convince Fritz. enter rehab and “never, ever gave up” on his friend.

During this time, Wolfe recalled that production on “American Pickers” had restarted. Wolfe told People that “the network eventually decided to move forward without Fritz” because he was unable to provide negative drug tests.

“They’re just like, ‘Listen, we’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to keep doing this,'” Wolfe said. “I had mixed feelings about doing this… and we were just trying to figure out what to do.”

Wolfe said he had a hard time feeling like the “last man standing” following Fritz’s departure from the show.

“I had to fend for myself in many ways. I could finish his sentences. He could finish mine,” he says. “I’m a left-handed person, but I felt ambidextrous around him.”

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

Wolfe compared her breakup with Fritz to “losing a brother,” telling People: “And so it was very difficult to hear what he said.”

“I wish he didn’t have to deal with all this stuff in the shadows,” he added. “We could tell him how much we loved, supported and encouraged him, but he never recovered.”

Despite their disagreements, Wolfe told People that she and Fritz “never lost touch.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

“I stepped away for a while because I was watching what he was doing, but I still fought for him to go to rehab and still had those conversations,” he said.

Wolfe continued, “And everybody said, ‘When his back got better… and I said, ‘It’s not his back. That’s one thing, but we’ve got to help him get better, because he needs us right now.'”

“I never moved completely away from it,” he added. “It would have been impossible for me to do that. But I watched it all unfold. I tried to help him as much as I could, and we talked.”

But Wolfe said he and Fritz later had an emotional reconciliation.

“It was beautiful,” Wolfe recalled. “He was struggling with addiction. I know how prejudiced the public can be.

He continued, “That’s why it was so easy for me to forgive him when we started talking again, because I knew it wasn’t him talking. It was his addiction to talking.”

Wolfe told People there have been conversations about Fritz potentially returning to “American Pickers” after they resolve their differences.

Fritz in 2022 had a stroke and was taken to hospital. Wolfe told People at the time that an on-screen reunion with Fritz “was never going to happen” due to his former co-star’s health issues.

But their friendship remained strong until Fritz’s death, Wolfe said.

CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION

“After he had the stroke and went to a facility, I saw him many times and was able to talk to him in a very friendly and very loving way about everything I wanted to say to him,” Wolfe recalled.

When asked how he wanted Fritz to be remembered, Wolfe said, “He was such a beautiful person, honestly, who knows what our lives would have been like if there had never been a show?” he said.

“I want people to know who he is,” Wolfe added.

Read the rest of this story here: FOX News.