This article contains mentions of suicide; reader discretion is advised.
American Idol alum and country darling Kellie Pickler has been taking a break from the spotlight ever since personal tragedy struck at the beginning of 2023.
The 37-year-old performed for the first time in over a year on Monday, April 22, as part of a Patsy Cline tribute at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
The singer confessed to feeling “nervous” before singing a song she wrote with her late husband Kyle Jacobs as part of her 2013 studio album, The Woman I Am.
How did Kellie Pickler’s husband die?
Kyle Jacobs died by suicide on February 17, 2023. He was 49. The official Metropolitan Nashville Police report noted that the songwriter was found deceased in a bedroom/office space in the couple’s residence from an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Pickler reportedly woke up shortly before her 911 call, at which point she began looking for her husband, and attempted to open the door to the bedroom/office with the help of her personal assistant. After they were unsuccessful, the country star’s assistant called the authorities.
Jacobs was a prolific country music songwriter who co-wrote hits like Garth Brooks’ “More Than a Memory,” Kimberley Locke’s “8th World Wonder,” and Lee Brice’s “Rumor.” Pickler and Jacob’s would write together often, and even starred together in a CMT reality television show called I Love Kellie Pickler.
According to The New York Post, the couple met at a Nashville bar a year after Pickler’s rise to fame on the 2006 edition of American Idol. They were introduced by mutual songwriter friends. “We just locked eyes and I went, ‘I gotta know everything about this person,'” the “Best Days of Your Life” songstress told The Real in 2015. They eloped to Antigua, marrying in 2011.
Although the two would often attend different events together, Jacobs’ career as a songwriter in Nashville was spent mostly behind the scenes. The circumstances surrounding his death have remained private as a result.
In August 2023, Pickler spoke about the incident for the first time in a statement to People, describing it as “The darkest time in [her] life.”
“One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of a crisis, if you don’t know what to do, ‘do nothing, just be still.’ I have chosen to heed his advice.”
The country singer thanked her family, friends, and fans for the support and said she was planning an intimate memorial for Jacobs later that year.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. A list of international crisis resources can be found here.
