Frank Fritz, who used to co-star on American Pickers, suffered a serious stroke in 2022 and he is still recovering at home currently.
Frank Fritz originally had to leave American Pickers to undergo and recover from a back surgery.
However, sadly after he recovered from his back surgery, he suffered a serious stroke for which he was hospitalised in 2022.
Fortunately, the reality star has now returned home, but he is still under a temporary conservatorship because of his diminished decision-making capabilities.
Why did Frank Fritz leave the show?
It is always sad when a beloved cast member has to leave a long-running show, but when this cast member has to leave because of health concerns, it can be even worse. American Pickers is one such long-running show which has been on the air since 2010.
Frank Fritz, who co-starred with Mike Wolfe on American Pickers since its inception, sadly had to leave the show back in March 2020 in order to recover from a back surgery.
Fritz was replaced on the show by Wolfe’s brother, Robbie, who joins Wolfe in looking for and finding rare bargain items that will earn them the highest profit.
What is the status of Frank Fritz from American Pickers?
Many American Pickers fans initially found it jarring when Fritz simply disappeared from the show in its 21st season.
As a result, after he had completely recovered from this back surgery, Fritz even fanned the flames and insisted that he would love to come back to the show, but that none of its producers had contacted him yet.
In fact, he reportedly even started selling “I want Frank back” t-shirts in his store.
However, it seems like any dreams that Fritz may have had about returning to the show in the future have been interrupted permanently.
This is because Fritz suffered a stroke in his own home in 2022 and he was subsequently hospitalised in July after a close friend found him incapacitated on the floor.
This stroke apparently had a severe impact on the former reality star’s life and left him in such a state that he was placed under a temporary conservatorship in August.
This conservatorship was granted after the court established that Fritz could not ensure his own safety or provide for his own basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical care.
Furthermore, it claimed that he did not have enough decisional capacity to make, communicate, or carry out any decisions on his own.
Fortunately, there is some good news, as Fritz was discharged from the hospital to a rehabilitation centre only a month later. Thus, he has since been able to return to his own home in Iowa to continue his recovery there.
The changes made to Frank Fritz’s Iowa home
Some long-time American Pickers fans will know that Fritz had built an impressive storage warehouse on his farmhouse property in Le Claire, Iowa, where he stored all of the interesting and valuable finds that he picked up during his travels.
However, since a ramp reportedly had to be built on the outside of his property so that Fritz could access the home in his wheelchair, it seems unlikely that he will be spending a lot of time in this warehouse in the near future.
The lasting impact of Frank Fritz’s stroke
As of March 2023, Fritz is still under his temporary conservatorship agreement and thus, has to rely on one of his close friends to assist him with things like cooking, grocery shopping, medical treatments for Fritz’s Crohn’s disease, physical therapy, and transportation to and from appointments if Fritz feels well enough to attend.
MidWestOne Bank has reportedly been assigned to handle all of Fritz’s financial matters while he recovers.
What did Mike Wolfe have to say about Frank Fritz’s health?
Rumours started circulating about a feud between the two American Pickers stars Fritz and Wolfe as soon as Fritz unexpectedly left the show in 2020.
However, aside from one instance where Fritz confirmed that he had not spoken to Wolfe in two years, the two have been very vague about the nature of their relationship following Fritz’s departure from the show.
Fortunately, Wolfe has not let the real or imagined feud between them stop him from caring about his old co-star’s recovery.
He has stated that although this was not the time to set the record straight about their crumbling friendship, it was the time to pray for his friend.
In the end, considering the lasting effects of Fritz’s stroke, it seems unlikely that he will ever be able to return to the show now, even if he and Wolfe have made up.
