Forever friends. Ben Aaron, Kellie Pickler’s former Pickler & Ben cohost, has opened up about processing the death of the singer’s husband, Kyle Jacobs.
“I never had a lot of guy friends because I was never a typical guy. It was always difficult for me to meet a pal. Then came Kyle, a package deal with my former work wife Kellie,” Aaron, 41, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 18. “I remember meeting him for the first time at a sushi joint in Nashville. He and I both completely different species. Kyle a midwestern country music staple and me, some New York City wisea–. But from the jump, we clicked.”
He continued: “So much so that our three-way conversations often became he and I one-on-one. This first meeting led to our nightly ritual, dinner after the show, the three of us or often just Kyle and me sitting for hours talking about whatever and whomever. Kellie would often joke that she was the third wheel. He became a safe place for me, I was in a strange town surrounded by strangers.”
The American Idol alum, 36, and Aaron — who married Good Morning America alum Ginger Zee in 2014 — hosted Pickler & Ben together on USA Network between September 2017 and May 2019. As Pickler and the TV journalist became close colleagues, the late musician became a natural addition to their crew.
“If we were at an event, he would throw his arm around me and guide me around the room, welcoming me into his world. I loved Kyle because it was impossible not to,” Aaron recalled on Saturday. “He was the ground in a world where most people float aimlessly. I wish someone like Kyle into the lives of everyone, he’s that guy you want with you when your world is crazy. … I will miss your warmth and scratchy cackle of a laugh, I’ll miss our random texts when we see some inappropriate sign or inside joke. But most of all, I’ll miss you, my friend.”
News broke hours earlier on Friday, February 17, that Jacobs had died by an apparent suicide. He was 49.
“Nashville’s Department of Emergency Communications received a 911 call at 1:21 p.m. Friday from a home on Sneed Road in the police department’s West Precinct. Officers and Nashville Fire Department personnel responded and located resident Kyle Jacobs deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in an upstairs bedroom/office. His death is being investigated as an apparent suicide,” the Metropolitan Nashville Police said in a statement to Variety at the time. “Mr. Jacobs’ wife, Kellie Pickler, reported that she awoke a short time earlier, 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.”
The late songwriter and Pickler tied the knot in 2011, opting to elope in the Caribbean. Nearly four years later, they costarred on their joint I Heart Kellie Pickler reality TV show.
“It’s kind of the crazy things that Kellie gets herself into, and I kind of have to get her out of it,” Jacobs exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2015 of the three-season docuseries. “It honestly is nothing but love and laughter. We love our marriage, and our marriage is always number one.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
