Rick Ness opens up about his emotional return to the show and the impact that his mother’s death had on him.
From a college football star to an upright bass-playing musician, Rick Ness’ life has seen a little bit of everything. But Ness struck gold when he found his way onto Parker Schnabel’s crew in Season 3 of Gold Rush. The Michigan native had never mined for gold in his life, but he quickly saw himself rising up the ranks on Schnabel’s team. Before long, Ness became a Gold Rush fan favorite as his big personality earned him adoration as well as more screen time. By Season 7, Ness had his own crew with Schnabel’s team and everything in his life seemed to be looking up.
But in 2018, Ness lost his mother to cancer. Understandably, the loss took its toll on Ness, but he pressed forward. In the Season 8 episode “Of Monsters And Men,” Ness told Schnabel that he was parting ways with the team and becoming his own boss. Once again, things started to look up again for the Gold Rush star. But in Season 13, Ness decided to walk away from the show. He admitted that the stresses of the show drained him. He also revealed that he was suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Ness’ absence in Season 13 was noticeable and fans certainly missed Rick’s presence on the show.
Rick Ness Discusses His Emotional Return To Gold Rush
At the end of August, Discovery had Gold Rush fans breathing a sigh of relief when they confirmed the return of Ness for Season 14. At the end of the trailer for Season 14, Ness makes a surprise appearance in a very fashionable way.
In a recent interview with TV Insider, Rick Ness discusses his emotional return to Gold Rush. He noted his decision to step away during Season 13 as something that needed to happen for his sake. “I ultimately stepped back and reevaluated everything in my life. I think like a lot of people, the stress got to me. I wasn’t dealing with things correctly because I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to reach out for help. I was making bad decisions, so I really had to reevaluate,” Ness said.
His time away from the show is ultimately what helped him to decide to come back. “This was a case of asking if this was what I wanted to do. Was I done with this? I thought, ‘You know what? I have over a decade of invested in this. Time, money, effort, all this.’ It was such a big part of my life, so I wasn’t willing to give that up. I made the decision that, no, this is what I want. I will do whatever it takes to get back to it.”
Rick Ness On The Role His Mother Played In His Comeback
After his mother’s passing in 2018, Ness reveals that he chose to ignore his grief instead of dealing with it in a healthy way. Something that ate at him for a long time. “My mom passed, and I never dealt with it. I had the mindset that I was too busy and would put this away for a later date. It turns out that was the wrong thing to do. It turns out a lot of people make that mistake. Part of it was I took ownership of my mom’s house when she passed. I couldn’t even go there for years,” he said.
The turning point in his journey through grief was finally acknowledging his loss. “I walked through that door, packed her house up, and took what I wanted to remember my mom by. Then I had to sell the house to ultimately fund my comeback here. It sounds terrible, but I had that in my head. A house is a house. And if this house could get me back on track, that is what she would want. But it has to mean something. I knew if I was doing this I had to make it work. That was a big part of my journey no doubt.”
