Kellie Pickler Breaks Her Silence 6 Months After Husband Kyle Jacobs’ Suicide: ‘Darkest Time in My Life’
Country singer Kellie Pickler broke her silence six months after her husband, Kyle Jacobs, died by suicide in the couple’s Nashville, Tennessee, home on February 17.
“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,’” Kellie, 37, told People on Thursday, August 17. “I have chosen to heed his advice.”
The American Idol alum continued, “Thank you to my family, friends, and supporters, for the countless letters, calls, and messages that you have sent my way. 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.”
This is the first time Kellie has spoken out since news of Kyle’s death broke in February when the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call at their home with reports of an apparent suicide after a man shot himself.
“Nashville’s Department of Emergency Communications received a 911 call at 1:21 p.m. Friday from a home on Sneed Road in the police department’s West Precinct. 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,” read a statement from Nashville police at the time. “His death is being investigated as an apparent suicide. 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.”
The “Red High Heels” singer and her late songwriter husband met through mutual friends in the mid-2000s and immediately began writing songs together. After a slow and steady romance, Kyle popped the question in June 2010.
“One of the most special days in my life will always be June 15,” she shared on social media six years after their New Year’s Day 2011 nuptials. “On that date in 2010, Kyle and I were in Rosemary Beach, [Florida], on what he told me was just a ‘vacation’ … That evening, after a romantic dinner, we took a sunset stroll on the beach … Little did I know, he had secretly planted a small wooden box in the sand.”
She later referred to Kyle as her “sanctuary,” telling The Knot, "He is my best friend, so I trust him completely ... I'm so blessed to be able to experience this life with my best friend. My life partner. He's my adventure-travel buddy and just my treasure. I'm so blessed to have somebody to share this life with."
The couple went on to celebrate many milestones throughout their married life, including Kyle winning “Song of the Year” at the 2014 ACM’s for cowriting Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck” and landing their own reality series, I Love Kellie Pickler, the following year on CMT.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
