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Is Ree Drummond related to Mike Smith? Query trends online amid Trailer Park Boys' Bubbles arrest

Fans confuse The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond’s late brother Michael Smith with Trailer Park Boys actor Mike Smith, recently charged with sexual assault — but the two are not related.
posted by Ashray BS
Sunday 11/9/2025 at 6:26AM EST
  • Ree Drummond posing for a picture (Image via Instagram/@thepioneerwoman)
    Ree Drummond posing for a picture (Image via Instagram/@thepioneerwoman)

    After the Canadian member of Trailer Park Boys, Mike Smith, was recently charged with sexual assault, online audiences are left in some confusion, and many are by fault connecting him to the Food Network star Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.

    The confusion comes from the name, "Mike Smith", which also happens to be the name of Drummond's late brother, Michael Smith. Although there has been some recent curiosity online about it, there is no relation whatsoever between Ree Drummond's brother and the Canadian actor.

    It all started after reports that Mike Smith, the 53-year-old actor who’s made his name playing “Bubbles” in the enduring Canadian comedy series Trailer Park Boys, was charged with sexual assault in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    The incident is reported to have happened in December 2017 and Smith was charged on October 2, 2025, according to court documents obtained by CBC News. After the charge was laid, the company that owns the rights to Trailer Park Boys confirmed Smith had stepped down from his role.

    At the same time, social media users searching “Ree Drummond Mike Smith” were provided misleading search results.

    If a person clicks on the About section containing Drummond’s info online, it says her brother’s name is “Mike Smith”, which links to pages about the Trailer Park Boys actor, a misdirect to the character resulting in many social media users to suggest a family connection to authority.

    What we know about Ree Drummond's actual brother 

    Ree Drummond lost her brother, Michael Smith, in November 2021 at the age of 54. Drummond announced the heart wrenching loss in an emotional Facebook post, where she referred to her brother as her “first friend and buddy.”

    Michael, also fondly called “Mikey,” was an active member of their native Bartlesville, Okla. Drummond described him as “perfectly wonderful,” with a lifetime of memories shared.

    "It isn’t possible to sum up the life of someone as perfectly wonderful as my brother Michael, so right now I won’t try. He was seventeen months older than me, my first friend and buddy, and I’m so grateful for over 50 years of photos and memories," Ree Drummond wrote on Facebook.

    Michael Smith was recognized within his community as an individual who was kind, independent, and warmhearted. While he had developmental disabilities, he was living life the way he wanted to, including volunteering at the local ambulance and fire stations, and going to nearly every sports game in town.

    The Trailer Park Boys' Mike Smith, conversely, is a Canadian performer who gained fame playing the Bubbles character. In addition to his legal troubles now, Mike Smith was arrested in 2016 in Los Angeles on a misdemeanor domestic battery allegation, which was later dismissed.

    It is apparent how search algorithms played a part with both men sharing the same name, but leading very different lives and backgrounds. It should be noted that Ree Drummond's deceased brother Michael Smith is not an actor and was not involved with the entertainment industry of Canada at any point.

    TOPICS: Mike Smith, The Pioneer Woman, Trailer Park Boys, Michael Smith, Ree Drummond, Human Interest