NatGeo’s Life Below Zero featured a group of people living in the remote areas of Alaska and among them, Ricko DeWilde gained huge popularity among the viewers. Moreover, the fans were also intrigued with his family and their lifestyle featured over the show.
So, who are Ricko’s parents and siblings? Get to know all about it as this Ricko DeWilde Bio proceeds.
Ricko DeWilde On Life Below Zero
Ricko DeWilde first appeared on Life Below Zero back in the 2018 ep titled “Home Again”. Since then, he was a series regular whose popularity peaked by the end of 2021.
As per IMDB, he has been in over 30 episodes of NatGeo’s documentary.
How Many Kids Does Ricko DeWilde And His Wife, Rona Vent Have?
Ricko DeWilde and his future wife Rona Vent Have shared five kids — three daughters: Simone, Skarlett, and Maya, and two sons: Skyler and Keenan.
In 2021, Simone was 17, and his younger was reported to be around 5.
The kids were growing up in Fairbanks, Alaska, which has a population of 30,000.
According to Ricko, he wanted them to learn all about the native Alaskan traditions he learned from his parents. However, he wasn’t very patient about teaching them. “Sometimes in the past, I can be very short on patience with teaching my kids and simply have them learn by watching me do things,” Ricko admitted.
But he claimed that he’s a better and more patient father now. In his words, “Being on Life Below Zero has helped me be a more patient father.”
Talking about his relationship with Rona, the two have been together at least since 2013. They both are of Koyukon Athabascan ethnicity (a group named after the territory its people occupy along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers).
However, we don’t know if the two were married or not.
Did you know: Ricky was believed to live with his 5 kids, but he has also mentioned that he has a daughter called Sarah, who he missed a lot.
Ricko DeWilde Parents
Ricko DeWilde was born to parents, Amelia and Lloyd DeWilde. His mother was a Koyukon Athabaskan, born and raised in Alaska, while his father was a white man of Welsh descent from San Francisco who moved to Alaska.
Reportedly, Ricko’s parents homeschooled him, and that was where he learned about the traditional Koyukon Athabaskan lifestyle. Also, his skills for hunting, trapping, farming, and gathering, were all engraved into him by his mom and dad.
Unfortunately, both of Ricko parents have long passed away.
As per his tradition, Ricko held a memorial potlatch (a final step in the mourning process of Athabascan Indians) about two years after their death. He designed some sweaters to represent who they were and what they meant to him, for the potlatch. And this was how he kick-started his idea to do a clothing line.
Ricko DeWilde Siblings
Ricko DeWilde is the 13th of the 14 siblings born to Amelia and Lloyd DeWilde.
Sadly, one of his elder sisters, Riba May Dewilde was murdered on November 26, 2016, at the age of 52. To go into detail, it was her son Eli Simpson (21 at the time) who shot her to death. As per Alaska State Troopers, Eli called the police to report that his mother was deceased at her residence.
Later, he then confessed to investigators that he had killed his mother in self-defense and that he has endured abuse from her for years. Also, he went on to add that he shot her at point-blank range because he did not want her to suffer.
Eli was the youngest of Riba’s six children. He was arrested on charges of Murder I and II.
The rest of Ricko’s nephews and nieces are Levi Dewilde, Elliot Cruikshank, Wesley “Scotty” Cruikshank, Lana Simpson, and Brian Simpson.
How Old Is Ricko DeWilde?
Ricko DeWilde was born on July 4, 1975. That made him 46 years of age in 2021.
As per his birthday, Ricko is of the Cancer zodiac.
Ricko DeWilde Net Worth
Ricko garnered a net worth of above $700 thousand by 2021.
To label his job, Ricko is a clothing store owner, a reality star, and a subsistence hunter (someone who hunts strictly to provide food for themselves and their families.)
He started his clothing brand HYDZ clothing back in 2008 after he got numerous compliments on the hooded sweatshirts he made for his family and friends (during the potlatch of his parents). So, he continued to make them and soon started it doing commercially.
As of 2021, his hoodies cost around $64, caps around $30, and tees around $20.
Before all this started, Ricko was a lost person who developed an addiction to oxycodone. Because of that he even spent 2 years in jail on cocaine-possession charges. But he turned his life around in mid-2000, with a lesson to not hold his feeling back and find “gratification” in everything he did.
Related FAQs
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How Tall Is Ricko DeWilde?
Ricko DeWilde stands tall at a height above 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm).
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Where Was Ricko DeWilde Born?
Ricko is from Huslia, Alaska. But he moved to Durango, Colorado in 2001.
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Is Ricko DeWilde On Instagram, Facebook?
Yes, find him over Instagram @reeky_reeks and Facebook @ricko.dewilde.
Also, here’s his Twitter @hydzgear.
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