Kellie Pickler Returns To The Stage For First Time Since Husband's Death

Kellie Pickler paid tribute to her late husband this week in her first return to the stage since his death in February 2023.

Pickler performed Monday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee at an event paying tribute to Patsy Cline, according to USA Today. The American Idol alum sang "The Woman I Am," a song she and husband Kyle Jacobs wrote together a decade ago.

"Nobody knows the woman I am better than my husband," she told USA Today the year the song came out. "There was no way I could try to be anything I'm not, because he could definitely call me on it."

Jacobs tragically died by apparent suicide, and Pickler has since thanked supporters for "helping me get through the darkest time in my life."

Jacobs was definitely on Pickler's mind on Monday, since she mentioned she was last at the Ryman Auditorium on a date night with her husband. "I know he is here with us tonight," she said to the cheering crowd in a video of her performance shared on TikTok by Music Mayhem Magazine. Pickler added that she was honored to be there at the Patsy Cline tribute, saying "she was a huge reason why I fell in love with music."

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I was not incredibly nervous right now," she said before performing. "It's the first time I've been up on stage in a while."

Fans seemed to approve, as they gave her a standing ovation afterward.

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