Country music star Kellie Pickler’s songwriter husband Kyle Jacobs has died by suicide at their home in Nashville, police said Friday night.
Cops said they received a 911 call at 1:21 p.m. from the house and found Jacobs, 49, with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in a locked bedroom.
“Mr. Jacobs’ wife, Kellie Pickler, reported that she awoke a short time earlier, did not see her husband, and began looking for him. After she and her personal assistant were unable to open the door to the upstairs bedroom/office, the assistant telephoned 911,” police said in a statement.
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Pickler, who parlayed a sixth-place finish on American Idol in 2010 into a country music recording career and a hosting gig on Sirius XM, married Jacobs in 2011.
They were planning a big Music City wedding but ended up eloping to Antigua.
“All we did was I packed the wedding dress and packed him an outfit,” Pickler said on Ellen DeGeneres’ show afterward. “We totally just put faith in God that it was all going to work out, and it did, and it was the most incredible day of my life.”
Their relationship was the basis of a reality TV show, I Love Kellie Pickler, which ran on CMT from 2015 to 2017.
Tributes to Jacobs and condolences for Pickler came pouring in on social media after news broke of the tragedy.
“The Academy is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kyle Jacobs, a talented Nashville songwriter & producer and the husband of Kellie Pickler. In 2014 Jacobs won an ACM Award as producer of Lee Brice's ‘I Drive Your Truck,’” the Academy of Country Music Awards tweeted.
Two days ago, Jacobs posted a congratulatory message on Facebook about Lee Brice’s album going platinum, writing, “Deeply honored to be a creative part of it… Thank you Jesus!!!”
Ryan Lee, who said he had chatted with Jacobs while driving him in an Uber in Nashville last week, told The Daily Beast he had seemed “a little bit down” during the drive.
“Maybe he had worked long hours or was drained from a long day,” he said.
“Once he realized we had music in common, he opened up more. I asked him for advice, about what it takes to take my music out of my living room to become a full-time published songwriter. He gave me a little bit of advice,” Lee said.
“When we got to his house, after talking about music and things, he sat there for a minute. He told me, ‘My best advice is: be yourself, be true, write what you feel and don’t try to be anyone else.’”
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
