Just heartbreaking.
Wynonna Judd has been through a whole lot in her personal life over the years, notably with her mother, Naomi, the other half of legendary country duo The Judds, who sadly died by suicide in April of 2022. The Judds were one of the most successful country duos of all time, signing with RCA Records in 1983. Naomi and Wynonna released six records between 1984, kicking things off with their debut record, Wynonna & Naomi, and ending their career with Love Can Build a Bridge.
Both were impressive vocalists with a ton of talent that meshed perfectly with the natural chemistry of being mother and daughter. While they certainly had their issues over the years, Wynonna loved her mother deeply and was obviously devastated when she tragically passed away due to suicide.
Wynonna just released her first album since 2016, The Hard Truth, which is a very personal project that details a lot about her relationship with her mom, her childhood, her struggles with her daughter, and so many other other hard things Wynonna has been through… it’s really the perfect album title for her journey.
Wynonna recalled getting a phone call around 11 AM from their life coach saying she needed to get to her mother’s house right that minute on the day she passed, and she went into the details about what transpired that day during a lengthy interview with Shawn Ryan.
The two of them seemed to have a very complicated relationship, to put it mildly, and Naomi kept a huge secret from Wynonna for 30 years… she didn’t find out who that the man who she always thought was her father wasn’t her biological father until she was 30-years-old.
In addition, Wynonna has talked a lot about her rough upbringing and how her parents were pretty absent, leaving her to help raise her younger sister and take on a lot of responsibility at a very young age. They’re the kinds of things that stick with you forever, and cause real pain, so the fact that she’s being so open about all of it is commendable.
Naomi had been open about her struggles with severe depression throughout her life, and Wynonna opened up more about her mom’s struggles during a recent episode of the All There Is with Anderson Cooper podcast.
He asked Wynonna if it was a shock when her mother died, and she explained that it wasn’t, and sadly, it was something her mother “talked about a lot.” Wynonna recalled many times she would go over to her mom’s house and spend the night, noting just how much she was struggling at the end:
“No. She talked about it a lot. She’d call me and say, ‘I don’t wanna be here anymore.’ And I’d go over and spend the night with her, and it was awful. It was really awful. She was really struggling in the end.”
I just can’t imagine. My heart goes out to her, because that is the kind of heartache and trauma you can never get over, you just learn to live with.
When asked if anyone really knew the full scope of what she was dealing with, Wynonna explained that her mother never revealed any of that because she had so much “shame and guilt” around her struggles:
“She never did. She was so ashamed. It was shame and guilt. And I think she was very fragile, and she didn’t want to ever reveal that. She wanted to be famous.”
Wynonna said that it understandably “broke [her] heart over and over again” because her mom never got the help that she needed:
“Yep, and it broke my heart over and over again. Because she just never got the help that she needed.”
When asked if she talks to her mom now, Wynonna says she does, and sometimes it’s as simple as “I’ve lost 20 pounds”:
“I do, a lot. Both. Well, bet you loved that, mom. You know, or hey, I’ve lost 20 pounds.”
I just can’t imagine going through everything she has, but she continues to come out on top, and now in her 60’s, Wynonna has found a way to be her most honest and vulnerable yet, and it’s not hard to figure out why she’s a country legend.
The full episode is available below.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741 if you or someone you know is considering suicide.
