• Kellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs had originally planned a big wedding before realizing they only wanted to elope on the beach
• Kellie and Kyle married on 1-1-11 in Antigua and would go on to make music together and raise money for various causes
• In 2023, Kyle Jacobs died at 49 by suicide, leaving behind a heartbroken Kellie Pickler who appreciated the outpouring of support and love from fans, friends, and family.
Here is what happened:
Kellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs eloped to Antigua and swapped vows on Jan. 1, 2011, on the beach, ankle-deep in the water. The happy couple was planning to have a big wedding but they realized they didn’t want to invite people they didn’t actually like. Kellie Pickler shared, “We totally just put faith in God that it was all going to work out, and it did, and it was the most incredible day of my life.” She had “1-1-11” engraved on her husband’s wedding band on one side—and “Put it back on!” engraved on the other. So he’d know exactly what to do if he ever took it off.
She and Jacobs continued on in that spirited, playful vein, showing what good sports they were on two seasons of the CMT series I Love Kellie Pickler. The show followed them living the sweet life together, at home in Nashville and on the country music circuit, tackling lighthearted issues like his snoring problem and their friend’s fear of cotton balls along the way.
However, Kellie Pickler has had her own challenges to face. She opened up about her own year-long battle with depression in 2008, telling People, “Everything in my professional life seemed great. But in my personal life, I was just crumbling.” She credited support from friends and the love of the then-new man in her life for helping her out of a dark place.
After being involved with the event for years, they hosted the Island Time Music Festival in 2021 to benefit the Little Yellow School House in Mexico. “It’s one of the more beautiful things that we’ve ever done,” Jacobs said, prompting host Chuck Wick to tease that he never realized that the songwriter was as nice as his famously cheery wife.
