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‘American Pickers’: What Happened in Frank Fritz’s Final Episode?

The feud that ended Frank Fritz’s run on American Pickers seemed to come out of nowhere. And even his last episode didn’t reveal any tension between him and fellow star Mike Wolfe.

Frank Fritz’s very last American Pickers episode—titled Burlesque Queen—aired on March 2, 2020. In it, Mike and Frank trucked off to a Kansas City marina in search of rare maritime treasures. There was nothing amiss during the show. In fact, the two hosts seemed to be the best of friends. Of course, that leads us to wonder if there was always trouble brewing off-screen, and they were just pros at hiding the drama.

Judging by the episode’s IMDb page, we’re not the only ones who were blind to the inevitable American Pickers split. Burlesque Queen has an average audience rating of 8.0/10. And not one fan commented on the fact that Frank was never seen on the series again.

It took a few episodes before people started mentioning Frank’s disappearance. And even then, no one thought the hosts were having trouble getting along. Most people assumed that Frank’s Chron’s Disease was flaring because he’d had similar issues in the past. Frank had also undergone a heavy back surgery around that time. So some fans assumed the star was recovering at home.

More than a year passed before American Pickers fans finally learned that Frank Fritz’s hiatus was a permanent situation.

In July of 2021, Mike Wolfe informed the Instagram world that Frank wouldn’t be returning to the series. But he didn’t give a reason for the exit, which made the whole situation even more confusing. Wolfe simply wished his former co-host well.

“I will miss Frank, just like all of you,” he shared. “And I pray for the very best and all good things for him on the next part of his journey.”  Mike also added that Frank was “like a brother” to him and left it at that.

Why Frank Fritz Left ‘American Pickers’

Shortly after Mike Wolfe posted a kind farewell to Frank Fritz on Instagram, the scorned former star fired back. And he made it clear that there was bad blood in the American Pickers water.

During an interview with The Sun, Frank claimed that he hadn’t spoken to Mike in two years, despite the fact that he had gone through back surgery.

“He didn’t call me up and ask how I was doing,” Frank said. “That’s just how it is.”

Frank also expressed discontent over the fact that American Pickers favored Mike over him and always had.

It was later revealed that Frank’s alcoholism created a wedge between him and Mike Wolfe. According to reports, there was a point over the summer when Mike wanted to mend the relationship. But Frank was not interested. And that made his American Pickers exit permanent.