Kyle Jacobs, country music songwriter and the husband of former “American Idol” contestant Kellie Pickler, 36, has died from an apparent suicide. He was 49.
Metropolitan Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron confirmed to The Post that police responded to a 911 call from the couple’s home Friday afternoon and found Jacobs dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an upstairs bedroom/office space.
His death is being investigated as a suicide, police say.
Aaron added that Pickler reported that she woke up and could not immediately find her husband. She and her personal assistant were unable to open the door to the room where Jacobs was found, so the assistant called 911.
The Post has contacted reps for Pickler for comment.
Born on June 26, 1973, Jacobs was raised in Minnesota. He co-wrote Garth Brooks’ 2007 No. 1 hit “More Than A Memory.” He also helped pen “Still” by Tim McGraw and “Dust” by the Eli Young Band.
His songs have been recorded by the likes of Pickler, George Strait, Kelly Clarkson, Thompson Square and Jo Dee Messina, to name a few.
“I didn’t know someone like Kyle existed,” Pickler told People in 2008 of her then-boyfriend.
“He makes me feel so good about being me. I hadn’t seen the way a relationship should be. ”I’d never seen my mom and dad in the same room except in a courthouse. When I’m going through problems and saying, ‘I need a Xanax!’ Kyle says, ‘No, baby, let me be your pill.’ It’s so comforting.”
Pickler placed sixth on the fifth season of “American Idol” in 2006. She went on to win “Dancing with the Stars” Season 16 with Derek Hough in 2013.
During the competition, Pickler and Hough danced the rumba to “Say I Do,” a song Jacobs wrote and performed for the show. “That song is my life, it’s our story,” Pickler said of the track before taking the floor.
Jacobs and Pickler met through mutual songwriter friends at a Nashville bar in 2007. “So we ended up sitting with him and his buddies, and we got lost in conversation and everybody else disappeared,” she revealed on “The Real” in 2015.
They immediately started working on music together, collaborating on several songs on Pickler’s albums, “100 Proof” in 2012, and “The Woman I Am” in 2013. They co-wrote tracks such as “Mother’s Day,” “The Woman I Am” and “Bonnie and Clyde.”
The couple eloped on Jan. 1, 2011, in Antigua. Their reality show, “I Love Kellie Pickler,” ran for three seasons on CMT, from 2015 to 2017.
“He makes me feel so, so great about myself. I feel so beautiful when I’m with him,” Pickler told The Boot in 2021. “He always tells me he likes me better with no makeup on and sweatpants. He makes me feel the most beautiful when I’m with him. As long as I’m healthy, then he is fine with whatever I wear.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.