Parker Schnabel may have struck gold on TV—but when it comes to love, the Gold Rush star says his gold-mining lifestyle makes dating “incredibly difficult.” Dating is a challenge despite Schnabel becoming the breakout star on the series, which was reflected in some of his massive scores.
Schnabel has managed to haul in some of the biggest collections of gold in Gold Rush history, including one worth a staggering $24 million! This has led to Schnabel getting his own spinoff series, Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail, while also continuing to be a major fixture on the main Gold Rush series. But while Schnabel has gathered plenty of fame — and a fortune or two — he’s freely admitted that his career as a gold miner has severely impacted his dating life.
Parker Schnabel Has a Hard Time Dating and Wants To Start a Family After ‘Gold Rush’
Schnabel told People in 2024 that the most difficult part of his job wasn’t figuring out mining equipment or finding the best source of gold. It was apparently explaining how his job works, which makes dating tricky. “It’s hard to explain that without it sounding like some dystopian insane world. I’m in the woods and you’re living in a f—-ing bunker washing rocks, looking for little shiny rocks…Then it makes dating incredibly difficult. They’re like, ‘What do you do?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know.'”
So what happens when Parker Schnabel finds Ms. Right? The answer is simple: he’s aiming to start a family one day, and it’ll more than likely be when Gold Rush has run its course. “I do hope to have a family and a life outside of TV eventually,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t expect his future children to get into the mining business. “One of the best things about my upbringing is my parents didn’t push me in any direction. My dad ran a construction company and there was zero pressure to be involved in what you would consider the family business. My grandpa was running basically a hobby gold mine.” Gold Rush has actually shown families embarking on gold mining journeys together, with spinoffs Gold Rush: White Water focusing on “Dakota” Fred Hurt and his son Dustin, while Hoffman Family Gold follows Gold Rush alum Todd Hoffman and his family.
Schnabel’s admission about his dating struggles is a rarity in reality TV, a genre that sometimes exaggerates problems—or fabricates them entirely—for drama. Some dating-based shows even resort to outright lies to keep viewers hooked. But when someone as successful as Schnabel openly acknowledges his challenges with dating, it feels refreshingly real.
Parker Schnabel and Other Miners Have Dealt With Ups and Downs on ‘Gold Rush’
While Schnabel might have trouble enticing his dates with the finer details of gold mining, anyone who’s seen him on Gold Rush knows that mining for gold is a very tough, and very dangerous business. Not only can your equipment fail, but you’ll also have to deal with the environment working against you. Schnabel knows this better than most, as during Gold Rush Season 15 he had to contend with multiple equipment failures and the ground that he wanted to mine on being frozen. While he had a far better start than fellow miner Rick Ness, who brought the wrong pump and saw his mining operations grind to a halt, it shows that you won’t get lucky every time you mine — despite what fans think about getting in on the gold mining business.
There’s also the hauls to consider. Despite pulling in some pricey piles of gold, Schnabel’s been fairly upfront that he’ll sell what gold he pulls up, due to an ever-shifting economy and the fact that he pulls in far more with his actual mining business than he does on Gold Rush. And what he does with the money is surprising; instead of splurging on fancy moments, he says he wants to treat his loved ones to the kind of experiences they aren’t used to, like taking his dad to the World Series or treating his friends to a Vegas trip. Honestly, I’m genuinely surprised that Schnabel has issues with dating if he’s this thoughtful. Maybe he hasn’t met the right person just yet.
