American Pickers’ Mike Wolfe is feeling the love on his 60th birthday.
Wolfe’s girlfriend, Leticia Cline, took to Instagram on Wednesday, November 6, to pay tribute to him, posting two pics of the pair in a car with Wolfe in the driver’s seat and Cline passenger-side.
“You will forever be my greatest adventure and the home my heart will always seek,” Cline, 46, captioned the post. “If we measured the sunsets, trips we’ve taken, concerts we’ve seen, people’s lives we’ve touched, animals we’ve helped, things we’ve loved then you’d be older than reality could comprehend.”
She continued, “A life well lived is not measured in years, but instead by how many people measure their lives by yours and you have such a beautiful life that over flows [sic] with it. I’m just happy I get a front seat for it all. Love you babe. Happiest of birthdays.”
American Pickers’ Mike Wolfe Recalls Frank’s Opioid Addiction, Intervention
Wolfe and Cline sparked a romance in 2021, the same year that Wolfe’s former wife, Jodi Catherine Wolfe, filed for divorce after nine years of marriage, according to People. Jodi’s filing cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split and noted that the exes had separated in 2020 before deciding to make it official. (They share a 12-year-old daughter, Charlie.)
Wolfe has hosted American Pickers on The History Channel since 2010. Earlier this week, he spoke out about his late costar and friend Frank Fritz’s opioid addiction.
“Here’s the deal,” Wolfe, 60, told People in an interview published on Monday, November 4. “I don’t have the right to tell his story — only he does. But I do have, I feel, the right to tell the personal story of how myself and so many people struggled to navigate what was going on in his life.”
According to Wolfe, he and Fritz were both navigating “relationships that were falling apart” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which collided with Fritz dealing with a back injury and undergoing surgery.
‘American Pickers’ Costars Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe’s Ups and Downs
Wolfe called the time off due to the pandemic and Fritz’s surgery a “perfect storm.” Wolfe added, “He became addicted to opioids, and that’s when everything changed.”
The duo’s inner circle subsequently had an intervention. A month later, Wolfe said Fritz was positive about how he was doing — but despite Fritz’s suggestion that things were OK, Wolfe said his struggle was noticeable and the network “finally made the decision” to let him go.
Fritz left the series in 2021, and died in September of this year at age 60. His rep told TMZ in October that Fritz died from the effects of a stroke and was in a hospice facility surrounded by friends at the time of his death. One day after Fritz’s death, Wolfe shared the news in a tribute via Instagram.
“I’ve known Frank for more than half my life and what you’ve seen on TV has always been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny,” Wolfe wrote. “The same off camera as he was on, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
