Former Fox Business producer and podcast host Jennifer Eckhart died by suicide at her Florida home, authorities have confirmed. Eckhart was only 36 years old when she was found dead inside her residence on Saturday, September 19th. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office subsequently classified her death as a suicide. Officials haven’t released additional information about the circumstances surrounding her passing.
News of Eckhart’s death began circulating on Monday, drawing renewed attention to her broadcasting career and later advocacy work. Authorities said she was discovered Saturday morning at her home in Martin County, Florida. Eckhart had spent years working in television before launching a podcast and nonprofit organization dedicated to helping trauma survivors. Her death came a little more than a year after she settled her claims against former Fox News anchor Ed Henry.
Eckhart worked for Fox Business Network for seven years as an associate producer. Her television career also included work associated with Fox News and Fox Nation, along with earlier positions at ESPN Radio and a PBS affiliate in Florida. After leaving Fox, she launched “REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart,” a podcast centered on adversity, recovery, and rebuilding after traumatic experiences. The program featured guests from entertainment, sports, media, and politics.
As Trending Politics reported, Eckhart received national attention in 2020 after filing a lawsuit against Henry. She accused the former Fox News anchor of rape and other forms of sexual misconduct. Henry denied Eckhart’s allegations and maintained that the relationship between them had been consensual. Her claims against Henry were never resolved by a trial verdict because the parties eventually reached a private settlement.
Fox News fired Henry in July 2020 after receiving a complaint concerning alleged sexual misconduct and commissioning an investigation by an outside law firm. Eckhart filed her lawsuit later that month, naming both Henry and Fox News as defendants. The network said it acted promptly after learning of her accusations. Fox News later said discovery showed it hadn’t known about the alleged relationship or Eckhart’s allegations until after she had left the company.
A federal judge dismissed Fox News as a defendant in March 2025. Eckhart and Henry reached a settlement resolving her remaining claims against him in June 2025, approximately five years after she filed the lawsuit. The financial and other terms of the agreement weren’t publicly disclosed. At the time of the settlement, Eckhart said she planned to appeal the dismissal of Fox News, while Henry continued to deny her allegations.
Watch Eckhart describe her allegations here:
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Former Fox News employee who accused Ed Henry of “violent r*pe” was found deceased in her Florida home.
Authorities say Jennifer Eckhart, 36, took her own life.
In a 2020 lawsuit, Eckhart accused Henry of asking her to be his “s*x slave” and “threatened punishment and… pic.twitter.com/XmVmE6hqpY
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 21, 2026
Following the settlement, Eckhart described the proceedings as an exhausting and re-traumatizing experience. She said the resolution lifted a burden from her shoulders and renewed her commitment to helping other people who had survived traumatic events. Eckhart increasingly devoted her public work to those efforts after leaving television. She described the next stage of her career as an attempt to turn her own painful experiences into support for others.
Eckhart founded The Reinvented Project, a nonprofit organization focused on helping trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy. Her “REINVENTED” podcast similarly gave guests an opportunity to discuss hardship, recovery, and major changes in their lives. The show included conversations with people from several industries, including musicians, athletes, political figures, and fellow members of the media. Eckhart said the project was intended to provide a voice to people who felt that their experiences had been ignored.
Eckhart also remained active on social media while promoting her podcast and nonprofit work. Her final Instagram post was published on June 1st, when she expressed happiness about returning to the platform after an absence. She told followers that she was working on projects she was excited to share with them. It became her final public message before her death.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t disclosed what led to Eckhart’s suicide or announced any additional findings from its investigation. Authorities have likewise not released further details about the scene inside her home. She was 36 years old.
Featured image: screengrab from the embedded video.