Kyle Jacobs, a songwriter and the husband of country singer Kellie Pickler, died at the age of 49 on Friday, according to police. His death is being investigated as a suicide, police said.
Police responded to the couple’s home after receiving a call from Pickler’s assistant at around 1:21 p.m.
Jacobs was found by law enforcement and fire department personnel with “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound” in an upstairs room in the Nashville home he shared with Pickler, the Metro Nashville Police Department said in a statement.
Pickler reported to police that she woke up that day a short time earlier and could not find Jacobs. She began looking for him, and when she and a personal assistant weren’t able to open the door of an upstairs room, her assistant called 911.
Jacobs and Pickler were married in 2011.
Pickler, who grew up in North Carolina, rose to fame as a contestant on American Idol’s fifth season, where she finished sixth place. She then went on to release four studio albums — the third, released in 2011 was named no. 1 country album of the year by Rolling Stone and was included on the Washington Post’s “Best of 2012” list, according to Pickler’s website.
Jacobs was a songwriter, collaborating with country artists like his wife, Lee Brice, Eli Young Band and Raleigh Keegan, according to his Spotify profile. He had recently taken to Instagram to celebrate a song he helped write for Lee Brice going platinum.
The couple documented their lives on the CTM docu-comedy series “I Love Kellie Pickler” from 2015 to 2017.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.