A fitness trainer, reportedly killed by his model partner, had to sever ties with his friends due to enduring prolonged abuse, according to those close to him.

Jacob Zieben-Hood, aged 34, was discovered on July 31, collapsed over his toilet in his New York City apartment, suffering from stab wounds and a severe cut on his head.

He was stabbed several times on the back of his leg – with one of the lesions so deep it sliced into his muscle. 

His husband, Donald Zieben-Hood, was the one to dial 911, but authorities believe he committed the heinous act during an altercation. 

The 40-year-old male model with more than 67,000 Instagram followers was arrested the same day Jacob’s corpse was discovered.

Jacob, who was originally from Texas, had a protective order against Donald at the time of his death.

Donald faced charges of burglary, criminal contempt, and weapon possession on August 3 and remains in custody at Riker’s Island without bail.

While charges connected to Jacob’s death are pending, awaiting autopsy results, investigators are probing the gruesome incident as a homicide. 

According to documents obtained by NBC, Donald has a documented history of alleged abuse dating to 2022, which involves felony accusations of strangulation and threats.

In light of the tragic incident, Jacob’s former friends have shared how his relationship with Donald led to him ‘disappearing’ from their circles.

‘I hadn’t heard from him, yet all I wished was for his happiness. That was my main concern, and I hoped he found it,’ Jacob Paulson emotionally told NBC.

Paulson and Jacob became best friends in 2013. But after two years of being inseparable, Jacob started dating Donald. 

Out of the blue, Jacob stopped reaching out to Paulson. The confused former-friend only knows that Donald and Jacob got married from social media. 

Another old friend, Joshua Baker, said his relationship with Jacob took a turn for the worse once he got together with Donald in 2015.

Jacob started ghosting him – ignoring invitations and phone calls, Baker said. At one point, Jacob had even started blocking his former friends. 

This sudden silence nudged Baker to directly contact Donald in 2015 to ask about Jacob.

‘Jacob is doing very well,’ Donald Facebook messaged Baker, as reviewed by NBC.

‘He’s decided to break away from his past, which unfortunately included his closest friends, in order to move forward with a healthy life.

‘He’s been very focused and is back on the right track in his life and in order to remain focused he will remain out of contact for the moment.’ 

Marti G. Cummings, a well-known NYC drag queen who uses they/them pronouns, recalled how Jacob would always walk them to and from shows to ensure their safety.

‘He was a protector, which is why I think it makes this whole thing sadder,’ Cummings told NBC of Jacob. 

‘He didn’t get to be protected from this.’

A friend from Jacob’s Texas upbringing, Jonathan Starkey, claimed he had revealed an alarming detail about Donald back when they first started dating.

Jacob had said, ‘a lot had changed, and that Donald was a little possessive and jealous and kind of restricted who he was in touch with,’ Starkey told NBC. 

‘Jacob wasn’t really someone who let people tell him what to do, which is why it’s so strange.’

One of Donald’s old friends, Lauren Foster, told NBC she had no suspicion of any domestic violence.

But she did acknowledge a power dynamic at play. 

‘Don was kind of the alpha in the relationship,’ she told NBC. ‘I think Don would be the alpha in any relationship. He’s larger than life.’

While Jacob became abruptly estranged from his companions, they quietly viewed his life through the glamorous lens of his social media presence. 

Photos of Jacob and Donald’s travels and wedding created the image of a happy and healthy marriage.  

But court documents reveal a much darker side to the pair’s relationship.

Over the past three years, Donald had nine domestic charges filed against him, ultimately leading to the New York County Criminal Court filing an order of protection that barred Donald from contacting or going near Jacob in 2024. 

This protective order followed an incident last February, during which Donald allegedly brutally attacked Jacob inside his Harlem apartment. 

The incident caused Jacob to ‘almost lost consciousness, and sustained swelling, substantial pain, and redness to his neck,’ according to documents reviewed by NBC. 

The case is still pending and Donald had pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the alleged attack. 

Donald was arrested as recently as June and charged with criminal contempt and menacing for pointing a knife at Jacob and asserting ‘I will attack you,’ according to documents.

Once again, the alleged killer pleaded not guilty. 

As Donald and Jacob’s relationship seemingly unraveled, the deceased’s friends said he was trying to extend an olive branch and get back into their lives. 

Paulson said that early this year, Jacob followed him on Instagram and had a quick conversation in March. 

‘I was so excited to have that prospect of him coming back into my life after I’d kind of let him go as a friend,’ Paulson told the outlet. 

‘And then to have it really just permanently end, it’s just devastated me. It’s really wrecked me.’

On the night that Jacob died, it is believed by investigators that he had gotten into a physical altercation with his partner. 

Jacob allegedly had called his father while locked inside his bathroom and told him his husband was blocking him from leaving the apartment while wielding a knife.

The horrified father claimed he could hear Donald in the background of the phone call yelling at his son and calling him names. 

Meanwhile, Donald allegedly told police he had fallen asleep and when he woke, he made the gut-wrenching discovery of his dead husband. 

On the phone with 911, Donald admitted he had a protective order against him and was worried he would be arrested. 

The suspect, who was found with a black eye, bite marks and a few cuts that needed stitches, allegedly claimed Jacob had attacked him with a knife – not the other way around. 

He is set to appear in court on September 12. 

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential.

The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.