Todd Van Sickle is best known publicly as Jennifer Nettles’ ex-husband, but that description leaves out the most substantial independently documented part of his story. During the early 2000s, Van Sickle owned Eddie’s Attic, the influential live-music venue in Decatur, Georgia, associated with the Atlanta-area singer-songwriter scene.
Contemporary reporting confirms that Eddie Owen sold the club to Van Sickle in March 2002. Van Sickle owned it until 2005, when Bob Ephlin bought the business. At the time of the 2002 sale, local music publication Creative Loafing described Van Sickle as the husband of singer and Eddie’s Attic regular Jennifer Nettles.
That contemporary evidence matters because much of what now appears online about Van Sickle comes from later celebrity-biography pages with personal details that are hard to verify independently.
Why Todd Van Sickle Is Known Beyond His Marriage
Van Sickle’s association with Eddie’s Attic gives him a genuine connection to a significant period in Georgia music history rather than making him notable solely because of his former marriage.
Eddie Owen founded Eddie’s Attic in Decatur in the early 1990s and developed it into a respected performance space for singer-songwriters. Artists connected with the venue over the years have included Shawn Mullins, John Mayer, Jennifer Nettles and Sugarland. Contemporary Atlanta reporting shows that Owen transferred ownership to Van Sickle in March 2002.
Van Sickle therefore took control during an important period in the club’s history.
When Bob Ephlin became the next owner in June 2005, Creative Loafing specifically identified Van Sickle as the former owner and reported that he had taken over from Owen approximately three years earlier. Later accounts of Eddie’s Attic’s ownership history consistently place Van Sickle between Owen and Ephlin.
This is the clearest independently supported professional chapter of Van Sickle’s public record.
A Business Record Supports His Georgia Connection
An official corporate record also carries Van Sickle’s name.
Georgia Secretary of State records show that Van Sickle Enterprises, Inc. was incorporated in Georgia in January 2002. Todd Van Sickle was listed as the company’s CEO, CFO, secretary, and registered agent. The corporation was later administratively dissolved in 2015.
The timing is noteworthy: the company was formed shortly before contemporary reporting documented Van Sickle’s acquisition of Eddie’s Attic.
The public record does not, however, justify attaching every career claim now found on biography websites to Van Sickle. Claims about specific military service, universities, later employers, wealth, and present-day occupation should not be treated as established without stronger identification and sourcing.
Todd Van Sickle and Jennifer Nettles
Van Sickle’s name became much more widely searchable because of his marriage to Jennifer Nettles, who went on to achieve international recognition as the lead vocalist of Sugarland.
Reliable entertainment reporting identifies Van Sickle as Nettles’ first husband. CBS News reported in 2011 that the pair were married from 1998 to 2007, while the Los Angeles Times reported that their divorce became final in March 2007.
Some newer biography websites give 2000 as the marriage year. That claim conflicts with stronger reporting, including CBS News and other established reference sources that place the marriage in 1998. For that reason, the 1998–2007 timeline is the better-supported version of the public record.
Their marriage also overlapped with Nettles’ years in Georgia’s independent music community and the period in which Van Sickle controlled Eddie’s Attic.
Contemporary reporting provides particularly useful confirmation. When the venue changed hands in March 2002, Creative Loafing explicitly called Van Sickle Nettles’ husband and described her as a local singer and regular performer at the Attic.
Eddie’s Attic Connects Their Stories to Atlanta Music History
The relationship between Todd Van Sickle, Jennifer Nettles, and Eddie’s Attic is more meaningful than a simple celebrity-marriage footnote.
Before Sugarland became nationally successful, Nettles was active in Atlanta’s singer-songwriter community. A historical account of Sugarland’s beginnings describes Eddie’s Attic as one of the focal points of the Atlanta scene and notes that Nettles’ husband, Van Sickle, owned the venue for several years.
That does not mean Van Sickle should be credited personally with creating the careers of performers who appeared there. Eddie Owen established the venue and remained an important figure in its musical identity, while numerous musicians, bookers and owners contributed to its reputation.
The more defensible conclusion is narrower: Van Sickle owned an already influential Georgia music venue from 2002 until 2005, during a period that overlapped with Nettles’ rise in the regional and national music scene.
That distinction matters because several modern profiles exaggerate Van Sickle’s role by presenting him as the person who discovered or launched major artists. The surviving contemporary reporting supports his ownership, but not those broader claims.
What Happened to Todd Van Sickle Afterward?
Reliable public coverage becomes substantially thinner after Van Sickle sold Eddie’s Attic in 2005 and his marriage to Nettles ended in 2007.
That absence should not be filled with guesses.
There is no strong reason to publish supposed estimates of his net worth, physical measurements, later relationships, or other personal information simply because those details appear on celebrity-profile websites. Likewise, people sharing the name Todd Van Sickle in professional databases should not automatically be assumed to be Jennifer Nettles’ former husband.
The most accurate picture is therefore relatively concise.
Todd Van Sickle was Jennifer Nettles’ first husband and a documented Atlanta-area businessman who owned Eddie’s Attic between 2002 and 2005. Georgia corporate records independently establish his connection to Van Sickle Enterprises during the same period. His divorce from Nettles was completed in 2007, after which dependable mainstream reporting about his personal life becomes limited.
Was Todd Van Sickle the Owner of Eddie’s Attic?
Yes. Contemporary local reporting confirms that Eddie Owen sold Eddie’s Attic to Todd Van Sickle in March 2002. Van Sickle later sold the club to Bob Ephlin in June 2005.
When Were Jennifer Nettles and Todd Van Sickle Married?
Established reporting places their marriage in 1998 and their divorce in 2007. The Los Angeles Times reported that the divorce was final in March 2007.
What Does Todd Van Sickle Do Now?
Public reporting does not establish a current occupation for Jennifer Nettles’ former husband. Because others share the same name, attaching employment records to him without clear identification could lead to publishing inaccurate information.
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