Ben Aaron, Kellie Pickler’s Former ‘Pickler & Ben’ Co-Host, Remembers Kyle Jacobs
Media personality Ben Aaron, who co-hosted the daytime talk show Pickler & Ben with Kellie Pickler from 2017-2019, is grieving the loss of the singer's husband and his close friend, Kyle Jacobs. Aaron remembered Jacobs in an emotional social media tribute, describing their bond as an unlikely but powerful friendship that emerged because Jacobs was "a package deal with my former work wife Kellie."
"Kyle a midwestern country music staple and me, some New York city wise a--," Aaron reflected. "But from the jump, we clicked."
Aaron went on to recall the three friends' nightly tradition of getting dinner after he and Pickler were finished hosting their show, which was recorded in Nashville. Aaron was an outsider in Music City, but Jacobs helped him navigate and learn to love an unfamiliar town.
"If we were at an event, he would throw his arm around me and guide me around the room, welcoming me into his world," Aaron recounts. "I loved Kyle because it was impossible not to. 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."
The TV personality accompanied his tribute with a string of images, most of which showed himself goofing off with Pickler and Jacobs and painted a picture of just how close their bond truly was.
Jacobs died on Friday (Feb. 17) of an apparent suicide, and in his post, Aaron touched on his bewilderment at the circumstances surrounding his friend's death. "This whole situation doesn't make sense but it usually never does," he wrote.
"I will miss your warmth and scratchy cackle of a laugh," he continued," I miss our random texts when we we see some inappropriate sign or inside joke. But most of all, I'll miss you my friend."
Jacobs leaves behind an impressive catalog of hits as a songwriter. He co-wrote Garth Brooks' "More Than a Memory" and several hits for Lee Brice, and also penned songs for Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Craig Morgan and many others. Jacobs and Pickler eloped to marry in Antigua in 2011. At the time of his death, he was 49 years old.