Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox News associate producer who made heartbreaking accusations against former anchor Ed Henry, has died by suicide. She was only 36 years old.
Eckhart was found dead at her Florida home on Saturday, Sept. 19, according to an incident report from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office obtained by PEOPLE.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed to TMZ that her death was ruled a suicide. According to the outlet, her mother found her dead inside a bathtub with a knife nearby.
Eckhart worked at Fox Business for seven years before leaving the network. She made headlines in 2020 when she filed a lawsuit against Henry, alleging that he had “violently” sexually assaulted her while they were both working at Fox.
© gotpap/Bauer-GriffinAccording to PEOPLE, she alleged that he took photos of her “for purposes of blackmail that could destroy her career.” Henry denied Eckhart’s allegations and maintained that their relationship was consensual.
Fox News fired him in July 2020 after receiving Eckhart’s complaint and conducting an investigation. The network said at the time that it had not received previous sexual harassment complaints against Henry before Eckhart came forward.
Eckhart’s lawsuit also named Fox News as a defendant. She accused the network of failing to protect her and properly address Henry’s alleged conduct.
Fox News was later dismissed from the case, and that decision was upheld by a federal appeals court in 2025. The legal battle with Henry continued for years before the two sides settled in 2025.
Following the settlement, Eckhart described the case as an “exhaustive, retraumatizing, five-year legal battle” and said she felt a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Rather than stepping away from the subject, Eckhart used her experience to advocate for other trauma survivors. She founded The Reinvented Project, a nonprofit focused on helping trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy, and launched the podcast REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart, which aimed to give survivors a platform to share their stories.
“I turned pain into purpose,” Eckhart said after her legal battle. She also said that survivors “do not require validation from a courtroom to emerge stronger than what tries to break them.”
Eckhart hit another rough patch in June 2025 when she was arrested and accused of attacking her boyfriend, Thomas Beasley, when he tried to end their relationship. But the assault charge against her was later dropped.
© GettyThe 36-year-old’s final Instagram post was on June 1. In the post, she joked about the price of gas and said she was happy to be back on social media, adding that she was “working on some exciting stuff” that she couldn’t wait to share.
Where is Ed Henry today?
As for Henry, he married Shirley Hung, a CNN senior producer, in June 2010, and they share 2 children. According to DailyBeast, they divorced, and he has been dating Alana Stewart, Rod Stewart’s ex-wife.
© GettyAfter Eckhart’s accusations and his firing, he sued the network for defamation in 2021. At the time, Fox News stated in response to the suit, saying, “Based on the results of those [independent investigation] findings, we promptly terminated Mr. Henry’s employment for willful sexual misconduct and stand by the decision entirely.”
“We are fully prepared to vigorously defend against these baseless allegations as Mr. Henry further embarrasses himself in a lawsuit rife with inaccuracies after driving his personal life into the ground with countless extramarital affairs in a desperate attempt for relevance and redemption,” they continued. It was dismissed in 2022.
That wasn’t his only controversy. In 2016, he made headlines when a Las Vegas hostess named Natalia Lima alleged he had a 10-month affair with her when he was still married to Hung.
His Instagram page is now private, but according to Newswax, he hosts a weekly program on Wednesdays.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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