How Gold Rush's Rick Ness Really Feels About Parker Schnabel

Alaska, Canada, and other locations visited by the "Gold Rush" crew tend to be cold, but things get heated quickly when thousands of dollars of gold are on the line. 

Various crews embark on massive expeditions hoping to strike it rich, but things even escalate within an individual operation. That was the case, especially with Parker Schnabel's gig. He's been a recurring presence on the reality series since the first season, and he's quickly grown into a master miner all on his own. Throughout much of his experience, he had Rick Ness as a right-hand man. For a while, the two always had each other's backs. Sure, they would argue and bicker occasionally, but you could always see a genuine friendship between the two in the earlier seasons. 

The two went their separate ways when Ness became his own mine boss on Season 9, but one would assume the two remained friendly after that. In an interview with Ness for Monsters & Critics, he explains how things got frosty between the two, but it sounds as if things are in a much better place nowadays. 

Many "Gold Rush" crew members keep their private lives private. Their demeanor on episodes is really the only glimpse we get of them, but Rick Ness gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at his friendship with Parker Schnabel in an interview with Monsters & Critics. When asked about how things were between him and Schnabel, Ness responded, "I think the initial break there, there was some animosity there. There definitely was on my part. I was not happy with a lot of things, between him and I."

He doesn't specify the source of that animosity, but one can assume it has to deal with the stress of being out in the mines and needing to find a score in order to make any money. However, just when things seem sour, he turns it around and clarifies that the two are in a much better place these days. "Like our most recent, we just did a virtual episode of 'The Dirt,'" he explained. "And it was the four mine bosses on there ... Crystal was asking some questions that were, they weren't quite right on point and Parker actually jumped in and kind of defended me ... but kind of just made it pretty clear where he stood."

Apparently, the two also spent some time in New York, where it was like the old days between the two. He ended his response with, "I think that the animosity that was there ... I think is probably faded away. And for me, I've got no reason to hold grudges. I don't have time for that." By the sound of it, they're not the best of friends, but they at least get along with one another. That probably means if the two ever meet on "Gold Rush" again, audiences shouldn't expect a shouting match, but you never know what might happen in the middle of an expedition.