Rick Ness and his twin brother Randy saw their lives change when their mother, Judy Marie Bard, died from cancer in 2018. Their mom passed away when she was 55.
After this loss, Gold Rush star Rick falls into a deep depression. He stopped working to focus on his mental health before he went back to mining. Later, he spoke about how he struggled after Judy’s demise. The show has also followed his personal and work journey through this time.
Specifically, Rick shared how his mom’s passing caused him to feel deep sadness during the show’s 13th season. He reflected;
I was having some mental health issues. There was a lot of things going on…and I didn’t know what it was, because I didn’t know anything about depression and…just thought I’d deal with it myself and try and figure it out, which is tough when you don’t know what you’re dealing with.
Randy also felt sad about their mother’s death but kept his feelings inside. People who know him as Rick’s twin understand that he likes to stay out of the spotlight. Still, it’s clear that both twins were just as heartbroken by the loss.
The Ness twins, Rick and Randy, experienced their parents’ divorce long before their mother’s passing
Rick and Randy Ness experienced their parents’ divorce long before their mom’s demise, which brought about another big change in their lives. After the split, their mother Judy moved to Rhinelander, Michigan, in 2003.
Rick followed her and made Michigan his home. Judy ran a sandwich shop named “Subby’s” on Brown Street and later worked at the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department first as a secretary and for a short time as a corrections officer.
Even though their parents’ breakup was tough, Rick and Randy stayed close and helped each other through it.
Their dad, Richard Ness, kept in touch with them and continued to work in the family business, Roy Ness Contracting and Sales Inc., a construction company their grandfather started in Michigan.
Richard’s work in the family business taught Rick and Randy strong values and a good work ethic, which became key parts of their lives. These experiences helped the twins form a connection that kept them close to both their mom and dad even though their family had changed.
The twins stayed tight with their father and took to heart the things he taught them. What they learned from him played a big part in how they tackled work and life.
Rick’s brother Randy is also in the family construction company as a mechanic
Rick Ness’s twin brother, Randy Ness, works as a skilled mechanic at their family’s company, Roy Ness Contracting and Sales Inc. Randy prefers to avoid the limelight, but he showed up in one of the Gold Rush‘s episodes.
Per the news, Randy helped Rick deal with the hard times after their mom’s demise. He also assisted Rick in selling their mother’s house, which let Rick put money back into his mining work and start his business again.
Even though Randy appeared in the Gold Rush, he stayed away from the public eye most of the time. People see a few glimpses of him on social media. Rick once shared a picture of himself and his twin sibling on X (which used to be Twitter) with a caption,
This, believe it or not, is my twin brother. It’s his birthday today which makes it mine to. Celebrating in Escanaba.
While they look different and seem to be fraternal twins, fans can tell they have a strong bond.
Rick further teased about his twins for his fans in a video titled “Two Truths and a Lie: Rick l Gold Rush.”
In the clip, he mentioned having a twin brother, taking lessons in breakdancing, and finding a nugget bigger than Parker and Tony’s. One of the three things he said is supposed to be a lie.
So, fans who knew Randy backed up his existence. However, some unfamiliar with the fact was pointing out that Rick having a twin is a lie.
