Country songwriter Kyle Jacobs has died, Nashville Police confirmed to Rolling Stone. Police stated that the songwriter and husband to Kellie Pickler died by suicide Friday afternoon inside their home in Tennessee.
Officers responded to a call at 1:21 p.m. Friday afternoon, and when fire department personnel arrived at the country music couple’s home, they found that he had died of suicide.
Pickler told police that she had woken up shortly prior to the 911 call after searching for her husband and not finding him. “[She] 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.
Jacobs and Pickler got married in 2011 and were featured in a reality show called I Love Kelly Pickler in 2015. Jacobs worked with numerous country singers throughout his life, and wrote Garth Brooks’ “More Than a Memory,” which debuted at No. 1. He also wrote tracks such as “Still” by Tim McGraw, “Dust” by Eli Young Band, and produced four No. 1 singles for Lee Brice, including “Hard to Love” and “Drinking Class.”
Throughout his career, Jacobs also worked with artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Randy Travis, Clay Walker, Scott McCreery, and Josh Kelley. He won a CMA Award, an ACM Award, and he was once nominated for a Grammy.
Just a day before his death, Jacobs posted a screenshot of Lee Brice’s album Hey World going platinum, celebrating the accomplishment with his followers. “An amazing crew of incredibly talented peeps put this one together…Deeply honored to be a creative part of it…Thank you Jesus!!!” he wrote.
And late last year, he shared his Spotify numbers for the year and told fans it was “kinda cool seeing how a song created in a little room on music row can reach so many people… Feeling very blessed right now.”
Back in 2015, Pickler spoke to Rolling Stone about showing the world an inside look at their life as a couple.
“With anything you do in life — professionally or personally — you have to build boundaries and only share what you’re comfortable sharing,” Pickler said. “If you don’t feel comfortable sharing a private part of your life, you don’t have to. So from the get-go, Kyle and I had to build boundaries. You can let people in without exploiting every part of your life.”
Pickler and Jacobs married in 2011 after dating for three years. They did not share any children.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). You can also reach out to the Crisis Text Line, a free, 24/7 confidential text messaging service that provides support to people in crisis when they text 741741.