“Gold Rush” star Rick Ness and Leese Arie faced some serious tumult during their relationship, to say the least, but it seems these two are finally over for good. So, what prompted their split?
For a time, Ness and Arie certainly made for a cute on-screen couple. As Ness shared in an interview with Idaho Press, they’d met between seasons — and things got so serious Arie even made appearances on the show. However, between late 2022 and early 2023, it became clear their relationship was far from a fairytale. Just weeks after Ness took to Facebook to reveal that he’d put a ring on it in October 2022, Arie shared some news of her own via TikTok. “Last time he ever cheats on me again!!” A few days later, Ness admitted via Facebook that he was the guilty party. “From ruining plans, holidays, and even worse stepping out on her, I’ve done the unforgivable, but she has continued to forgive me,” he wrote.
Evidently, Arie had it in her to forgive him just once more. In January 2023, Ness shared a picture where he can be seen kissing Arie on the forehead. The caption made it clear the two were back on: “We leave 2022 behind us in the dust, carrying nothing from it with us, except for lessons learned.” Unfortunately, their reconciliation proved to be short-lived. In February 2023, they broke up once again — and Arie wasn’t afraid to share the reason for their split.
According to Leese, Rick’s cheating never stopped
Back when Leese Arie confirmed her split from Rick Ness on TikTok, she’d used the hashtag “#Cheatersneverchange.” Sadly, that seems to have been an eery foreshadowing of what would lead to their breaking up for good.
After experiencing a ton of hate from a Facebook fan page dedicated to Ness, Arie clapped back at trolls by pointing out the true extent of his infidelity and revealing that he was a serial cheater. “Ppl make mistakes, but being cheated on over 200, yes — I said two hundred times. … is NOT A MISTAKE!!” she shared in an Instagram post (via Starcasm). In the same post, she also revealed that she was finally done for good. “Thank you for the good luck, but I don’t think it’s ‘Luck’ I need. I already did the best by leaving him forever,” she said.
While she’s since made her Instagram account private, at the time of writing, Arie is still active on TikTok — and she’s been very open about the cheating there, too. In response to one TikToker asking if they really had broken up, she replied, “Yes, I couldn’t do it anymore. You [can’t] force someone to treat you right.” Replying to another commenter, she made a point of noting that she has to prioritize herself. “I am finally strong enough to do what’s best for me,”
… but she’s happy to be single again
Leese Arie’s comment that she was finally happy after ending her two-year relationship wasn’t a one-off statement. In fact, in the time since confirming that she called off the engagement, she’s made it clear to her TikTok followers that she doesn’t see herself getting into another relationship with anyone any time soon.
In response to a fellow single TikTok user commenting that he found the solo life lonely, she explained, “I think it’s the best option for me.” In another comment on the same post, she doubled down on that. “I … have learned that I am best off staying solo for life,” she wrote.
As for Rick Ness, he’s yet to say anything public about the split. In fact, he hasn’t said much publicly at all since his New Year’s Day post. However, he has dropped hints that he may be involved in the upcoming season of “Gold Rush.” As fans of the show will know, Ness has been somewhat absent from the series of late — thanks to Seasonal Affective Disorder. However, in May 2023, he hinted that he may be making a comeback in a Facebook post. “There’s a big mystery going on about whether or not I am mining this year. I’d love to confirm or deny this, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” he wrote. Whether or not he does return, something tells us there won’t be any cameos from his ex-fiancée.