NEWSFrank Fritz Was 'Never the Same' After He Was Axed From 'American Pickers': 'There Was Turmoil in His Life'
Frank Fritz passed away in September 2024.
The final months of American Pickers star Frank Fritz's life were clouded with pain, according to a source.
Fritz and co-star Mike Wolfe travelled the United States together and sought out intriguing antiques and other unique finds to sell from 2010 until 2020, when he left the show to undergo a surgery. However, in 2021, it was confirmed he was not invited back to the show.
Frank Fritz costarred on 'American Pickers' until 2020.
"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," Fritz said at the time. "I finished shooting and then I had a little back surgery and then the pandemic came."
According to a source, the television host was "never the same after getting bumped from the show," especially since he and former fiancée Diann Bankson suffered a "bitter end" to their engagement "around the same time."
Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz reconciled their friendship before his death.
"There was turmoil in his life and the feeling among his devoted fans is the show exploited him, they used him and spit him out, and they’re mad at his ex-fiancée, too," the source spilled to the news outlet.
Fritz's health problems only worsened the following year when he had a stroke in July 2022.
"It’s tragic what happened to Frank. He suffered so much and kept on being so brave, but it was clear he was never going to be the same," the source added. "He struggled to walk and would probably have been forced to use a wheelchair the rest of his life, which he didn’t want."
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As OK! previously reported, Fritz's family confirmed the History Channel star died at 60 years old in a statement shared on October 1.
"This is a very tough announcement to make Frank passed away last night around 7:30," the statement read. "He was surrounded by myself, Mike Wolfe made a high speed to get back here from Nashville and other friends."
His cause of death was "late sequela of cerebral infarction," the medical term for a stroke, with contributing factors including aortic stenosis and COPD.
'American Pickers' star Frank Fritz was 'totally bedridden' before his death in September.
Fritz's friend Jerry Gendreau confirmed the television personality "felt really, really bad" and and was "totally bedridden" in his final days.
"You would go to see him in the nursing home and one-half of his body was completely done,” he said. "He would lift his arm up and it would just drop."
The source spoke with In Touch about Fritz's life after American Pickers.
