Looking over the American Idol contestants from the show’s 20-season run, Kellie Pickler is one of the more notable names. Five years after she competed in Season 5 (the year Taylor Hicks won), Pickler married Kyle Jacobs, a fellow songwriter, and the two of them also collaborated together professionally on a few occasions. Sadly, the news has come in that Jacobs has died at the age of 49.
Earlier today, it was reported by TMZ that a man had shot and killed himself at Kellie Pickler’s Nashville home, but initially the identity of this person wasn’t revealed. Hours later, the Nashville Police Department announced that it was Kyle Jacobs who died, and his death is being investigated as a suicide. Jacobs is believed to have gone into an upstairs bedroom/office in the home and shot himself. Authorities stated that Kellie Pickler had been asleep earlier in the day, but woke up shortly before the incident and began searching for her husband. After Pickler and her assistant were unable to open the door where Jacobs died, they called 911.
Born on June 26, 1973 in Bloomington, Minnesota, Kyle Jacobs accomplished some major musical feats during his lifetime. He’s arguably best known professionally for co-writing the hit 2007 Garth Brooks song “More Than a Memory,” which was the first song to debut in the #1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and ultimately charted at #53 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Jacobs also co-wrote the 2004 single “8th World Wonder” that was sung by Kimberley Locke, who placed third in American Idol’s second season. Additionally, Jacobs worked with Kelly Clarkson, another American Idol winner, as well as folks like Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins, Scot McCreery and Jo Dee Messina, to name a few.
Regarding Kyle Jacobs’ relationship with Kellie Pickler, the two of them became engaged on June 15, 2010 after dating for two and a half years, and on January 1, 2011, they eloped and married in what was a “small, intimate ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean,” as her representative put it at the time. Together, the married couple wrote the multiple tracks on Pickler’s 2013 album The Woman I Am, including the title one, and Jacobs could also be heard playing the acoustic guitar.
Outside of the music realm, Kyle Jacobs and Kellie Picker starred in the CMT (sometimes romantic) reality series I Love Kellie Pickler, which premiered in November 2015 and lasted for three seasons. They also appeared on Celebrity Family Feud, and while Pickler had a pretty big fail on the game show, she and her team ultimately won $25,000 for the USO.
We here at CinemaBlend express our condolences to Kellie Pickler and the rest of Kyle Jacobs’ family and friends during this difficult time.
