Frank Fritz Will Not Return to 'American Pickers'

It is official. Frank Fritz will not be returning to the set of "American Pickers." 

For weeks fans have suspected as much and Fritz’s co-host, Mike Wolfe, finally confirmed the news this week.

"I have known Frank for as long as I can remember, he's been like a brother to me," Wolfe said in a statement published by Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday. "The journey that Frank, Dani (Danielle), 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."

The History Channel also confirmed the news to the outlet. 

Fritz and Wolfe have worked alongside one another since the start of "American Pickers" in Jan. 2010, but in 2020, Fritz failed to appear in the show. He later cited back surgery as the reason for his absence. Then the COVID pandemic hit and production for the show had to be shut down. However, it later started up again sans Fritz. Now it appears as if he may have suspected something. 

In an interview with The Sun this week, Fritz admitted there was "a lot of controversies" surrounding the show at the moment and although he would like to return, it was all up in the air. 

"It’s up to the network whether I come back on the show. It ain’t gonna affect me one bit. I didn’t leave the show, I finished shooting and then I had a little back surgery and the pandemic came,” Fritz said.

He then claimed that he was the one who was doing all the heavy lifting on the show, and his back took strain. In the end, he needed to undergo surgery. However, Wolfe did not call him up after that to ask how his back was healing despite knowing about the surgery, Fritz continued, adding that the pair had not spoken for two years. 

During the interview, Fritz also revealed other factors that had been adding to the tension. 

"The show is tilted towards him 1,000 percent. I can’t even bend that far down to show you how much," he said of Wolfe. "That’s fine. It’s like you’ve got Aerosmith and there’s Steven Tyler and he’s the front man. I found my spot, I’m second and he’s number one on the show. That’s no problem with me, maybe he does have a problem.”

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