Kellie Pickler expresses gratitude to supporters for helping her during ‘the darkest time
Kellie Pickler has spoken out for the first time since the tragic death of her husband Kyle Jacobs, thanking supporters for all their love during ‘the darkest time in my life.’
Jacobs died by suicide at age 49 on February 17, 2023.
‘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,’ she said in a statement to People. ‘I have chosen to heed his advice.’
‘Thank you to my family, friends, and supporters, for the countless letters, calls, and messages that you have sent my way,’ she said. ‘It has truly touched my soul and it’s helping me get through the darkest time in my life. As many of you have told me, you are all in my prayers.’
She also revealed an ‘intimate memorial’ for Jacobs will occur in the autumn.
‘It has truly touched my soul’: Kellie Pickler has expressed her gratitude to fans for helping her endure ‘the darkest time in my life’ as she spoke out for the first time since the tragic death of her husband Kyle Jacobs
‘I am planning an intimate memorial for my husband, which will happen later this fall, that is what Kyle would have wanted.’
She concluded with, ‘Love & Blessings, Kellie.’
Jacobs died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Nashville home he shared with Pickler earlier this year.
The toxicology report found no drugs in Jacobs’ system, though it added Jacobs did have a history of ‘pseudoseizures, gastrointestinal bleeding, elevated liver enzymes, and chronic alcohol use.’
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department were called to Jacobs and Pickler’s home at 1.21pm on February 17 when Pickler couldn’t find her husband when she woke up.
The American Idol alum and her assistant called 911 when they were unable to open an upstairs bedroom.
‘Officers and Nashville Fire Department personnel responded and located resident Kyle Jacobs, 49, deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in an upstairs bedroom/office,’ Nashville police said in a statement.
‘His death is being investigated as an apparent suicide,’ the statement concluded, with spokesman Don Aaron adding all others at the home were safe.
Happier times: Pickler with her husband in 2015
‘That is what Kyle would have wanted’: She also revealed an ‘intimate memorial’ for Jacobs will occur in the autumn; pictured 2019
Within a few weeks of the incident, it was announced that she would be leaving her role as the midday on-air personality at SiriusXM’s The Highway.
Just a day before Jacobs’s death, he was celebrating a record he worked on – Lee Brice’s album Hey World – going platinum.
Jacobs was a producer on the record, in addition to playing acoustic guitar and providing backing vocals.
In his final Instagram post, he wrote: ‘Platinum?! SWEEEET!!! An amazing crew of incredibly talented peeps put this one together…Deeply honored to be a creative part of it…Thank you Jesus!!!’
Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006 and finished in sixth place
Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006 and finished in sixth place.
That same year she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, with her hits including Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful and Best Days of Your Life, co-written with Taylor Swift.
She started dating Jacobs in 2008, and after two and a half years of dating, Jacobs popped the question in June 2010.
They tied the knot January 1, 2011 in an intimate ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean.
Pickler said of her wedding, ‘Private Island. Caribbean. Cigar in one hand, Rum in the other. Someone just called me ‘Mrs. Jacobs.’….sounds nice.’