Former Fox News associate producer Jennifer Eckhart has died at 36.
Eckhart was found dead inside her Florida home on the morning of 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 that her death was ruled a suicide. TMZ was the first outlet to report the news.
Eckhart spent seven years working at Fox Business, where she was an associate producer. But her career became closely tied to a highly publicized legal battle after she accused former Fox News anchor Ed Henry of rape in 2020.
Eckhart accused Henry of sexually assaulting her while they were both working at Fox, saying she was afraid his position and influence could jeopardize her career.
Reflecting on the experience publicly in 2020, she said, ”I think it’s safe to say that I was paralyzed by fear when I was working there.”
She continued, ”I felt that he had the power to derail me, to destroy me, to ruin my career. And, I just, I didn’t have a voice until now.”
Henry repeatedly denied Eckhart’s allegations, maintaining that their relationship had been consensual. Fox News fired him after the network received Eckhart’s complaint and conducted an internal investigation.
Eckhart’s lawsuit described serious allegations against Henry, including claims that she had been sexually assaulted and threatened with retaliation.
Eckhart also named Fox in her lawsuit, accusing the network of failing to protect her and of not taking appropriate action over Henry’s alleged behavior.
However, those claims were dismissed by a federal judge in March 2025. The ruling found that Eckhart had not established that Fox was aware of Henry’s alleged conduct before she came forward with her complaint.
The legal fight continued for years before Eckhart reached a settlement with Henry.
Looking back on the lengthy case in 2025, Eckhart described the experience as deeply difficult.
“This has been an exhaustive, re-traumatizing, five-year legal battle with incredible challenges that at times I almost felt was unable to bear,” she told People in 2025.
”With this settlement in place, a weight has now been lifted from my shoulders and my passion to support fellow trauma survivors has been renewed.”
Rather than allowing the experience to define the rest of her life, Eckhart turned her attention toward helping others.
She founded The Reinvented Project, a nonprofit focused on supporting trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy, and launched the podcast REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart, where she sought to “give a voice to the voiceless.”
Her guests included musicians and public figures such as Billy Corgan, who spoke with her about subjects including “generational trauma.”
Eckhart often spoke about transforming her own experiences into something that could help others.
”I turned pain into purpose,” Eckhart said. ”I think the overarching theme, as far as this case not going to trial, is that survivors do not require validation from a courtroom to emerge stronger than what tries to break them.”
Her final Instagram post was shared on June 1. In it, Eckhart appeared in Florida and wrote about returning to social media after an absence, teasing that she was working on projects she was excited to share.
“Haven’t posted since the last time gas was under $4. What a time to be alive,” she wrote. “Glad to be sharing this weird little corner of the Internet again. Working on some exciting stuff that I can’t wait to share with you all!”
Now, news of her death has brought an end to the story of a woman who spent her final years trying to turn an intensely painful chapter of her life into something that could help others.
Jennifer Eckhart was 36.
