Wynonna Judd Still Has Questions After Naomi Judd’s Suicide: ‘Was There Anything I Should Have Looked For?’
Hers was a death that caused heartache far beyond the world of country music, and Wynonna Judd, for one, still has questions five months after Naomi Judd’s suicide. She opened up in her first interview since the tragedy, confessing she wonders if there was something more she should have looked for leading up to the moment she said her final farewells to her mother, who was also the other half of the Judds.
Wynonna Judd gave her first interview since Naomi Judd’s suicide and revealed she ‘said goodbye to her in the hospital’
Wynonna told Lee Cowan on CBS Sunday Morning that her mother’s death sent her into a new chapter in life. “This is the first interview I’ve done since she died,” she explained. “So, this is it. Here we are. And a new chapter begins.”
Ashley Judd previously revealed that she discovered Naomi after her mother fatally injured herself in her home while she was there visiting. After that, Wynonna had her final moments with her at her hospital bedside.
“I got the call, and I went over, and I saw her and I said goodbye to her in the hospital, and I closed her eyes, and I kissed her forehead, and that was that,” Wynonna told Cowan. “And next thing I know, I’m sitting … on the side porch, and I’m just trying to figure out what’s next.”
Instead of embarking on the Judds’ final tour with Naomi, as was planned, Wynonna will be touring solo with some help from a roster of superstar guests like Brandi Carlile and Faith Hill.
Wynonna Judd still has questions after Naomi Judd’s suicide
Naomi Judd died by suicide in April 2022, and Ashley gave a candid interview soon after to help discourage rumors. She said the family chose her to speak out and emphasized that her mother’s mental illness was behind her death.
When it happened, the Judds were preparing for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Wynonna revealed that she didn’t see any red flags in her mother. They’d reunited onstage at the 2022 CMT Music Awards only weeks before her death in what became their last performance together.
“I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it because she had had episodes before, and she got better,” Wynonna explained to Cowan (CBS). “That’s the challenge with mental illness. It’s really, really mysterious.”
“And that’s what I live in, is like, ‘Was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?'” she said before adding, “I didn’t.”
Wynonna Judd is ‘incredibly angry’ after Naomi Judd’s suicide, but she still feels her mom with her
Wynonna confessed she still feels “incredibly angry” about Naomi’s suicide. And she doesn’t think that feeling will ever go away.
But she also said she senses her mother’s presence. “I feel her nudging me. And sometimes, I laugh,” she shared. “And sometimes, I say, ‘I really miss you. Why aren’t you here so we can argue?'”
And one silver lining is that the tragedy brought Wynonna closer to her half-sister Ashley. “We’re so united right now,” she shared, “I think more so than we have been in a long time.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
