Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna dominated country music as the mother-daughter duo, The Judds. Their bond seemed unbreakable on stage, but their relationship was far more complicated. A secret, kept for decades, would later leave one daughter questioning everything she thought she knew about her past.

Before Naomi Judd became a country music star, she faced overwhelming struggles as a young mother. Raising two daughters on her own, she worked tirelessly to provide them with a better life, often making difficult decisions along the way.

Her children grew up under very different circumstances, shaping their unique relationships with their mother. Naomi’s past, and the choices she made, would later come back to haunt her—especially when a long-held secret was finally revealed.

Naomi’s Early Life and Struggles as a Young Mother

Naomi was born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, where she grew up in a middle-class family. Her world changed in high school when her older brother died of Hodgkin’s disease, an event that deeply affected her family. In the aftermath, her father turned to alcohol, and her parents eventually divorced.

At just 17, Naomi became pregnant and was forced into a quick marriage to Michael Ciminella, the man she later described as a way to give her baby a name. She gave birth to her first daughter, Christina Claire Ciminella—later known as Wynonna—just as she graduated high school.

Four years later, she had her second daughter, Ashley, before divorcing and moving away to start over. In Los Angeles, Naomi took on multiple jobs to support her daughters, working as a secretary, model, and even a receptionist for The Fifth Dimension’s manager. The financial strain was constant, and at times, she struggled to afford food and rent.

Determined to build a better future, she enrolled in nursing school while balancing motherhood and work. After enduring a violent assault, Naomi fled California with her daughters, returning to Kentucky to rebuild their lives. There, they lived in extreme poverty, surviving in a mountaintop home without heat, a phone, or a television.

Despite their circumstances, Naomi held onto hope, trading a prized possession — a buck knife — to buy Wynonna her first guitar. Music became their escape, a bond that would later launch them into country music history. Naomi would go on to become a successful singer, actress and producer.

While Naomi’s sacrifices allowed her and Wynonna to build a future in music, her younger daughter, Ashley, experienced a very different reality. Unlike Wynonna, who spent years touring with their mother, Ashley was often left at home.

Ashley’s Childhood: Growing Up Without Her Mother and Sister

While Wynonna toured the country with Naomi, Ashley Judd’s upbringing looked very different. Unlike her sister, who was always by their mother’s side, Ashley spent much of her childhood away from them, often feeling isolated and disconnected.

Ashley later revealed in her memoir, “All That Is Bitter and Sweet,” that she attended 13 different schools before the age of 18. Since Naomi and Wynonna were constantly on the road, Ashley was often left with her father, Michael, or with other caretakers.

She described long periods of loneliness, feeling like an outsider in her own family. Her childhood was also marked by trauma. Ashley disclosed that she was sexually abused by multiple men, including a family member, and was exposed to inappropriate situations at a young age due to Naomi’s relationships with different men.

While her mother and sister were building a music career, Ashley struggled with depression, abandonment, and feelings of neglect. As she grew older, Ashley carved out her own path, separate from The Judds. She went on to become a successful actress, starring in films like “Double Jeopardy” and “Kiss the Girls.”

While Ashley struggled with loneliness and instability during her childhood, Wynonna faced challenges of her own. For years, she believed she understood her place in the family, never questioning her identity. But at 30 years old, a secret Naomi had kept from her for decades would change everything.

The Truth Wynonna Never Knew—Until She Was 30

For three decades, Wynonna Judd believed Michael was her father. She had no reason to question it—he was the man Naomi had married as a teenager, the man whose last name she carried. But at 30 years old, Wynonna learned the truth: her biological father was someone she had never even known about.

While Wynonna remained unaware of the truth, her younger sister, Ashley, had known since childhood that they had different fathers. The revelation shook Wynonna to her core. “The first thing I said was, ‘It’s okay.’ And of course, I’m raging inside,” she later admitted. “I’ve just now come to realize how angry I was.”

Ashley believed the secrecy had done more harm than the truth itself. “Not knowing the truth is what has messed her up rather than having found out,” she stated.

For Wynonna, the news changed everything. But even after learning the truth, she didn’t immediately seek out her biological father’s side of the family. It would take nearly three more decades before she finally made contact with her half-brother.

Wynonna’s Long Road to Finding Her Half-Brother

Although Wynonna learned the truth about her father in 1993, she did not immediately reach out to his family. For years, the revelation lingered in the background of her life, something she had to process on her own. It wasn’t until 2020—nearly three decades later—that she finally made contact with her half-brother, Michael.

On his birthday, Wynonna picked up the phone and called him for the first time. She recorded the moment, capturing herself saying, “Hi, this is your sister.” It was a sentence she had never spoken before. The emotional exchange marked the beginning of a long-overdue connection.

True to her artistry, Wynonna planned to incorporate the recorded conversation into a song, using music as a way to process her emotions. She reflected on the experience, saying, “I had to decide whether I was better or bitter.”

Reaching out to her half-brother gave Wynonna answers about her past, but it did not resolve the complicated relationship she had with her mother.

A Complicated Mother-Daughter Relationship

Naomi and Wynonna had been connected not just as mother and daughter but as musical partners, spending years touring together as The Judds. Their bond was intense, but it was often tense. Naomi had Wynonna at a young age, and for much of their lives, it was just the two of them against the world.

That closeness, however, also led to conflict. Over the years, their relationship was marked by periods of estrangement and reconciliation. Naomi admitted, “There are just times we need a break from each other.”

She also acknowledged that she made parenting mistakes, “If I’d known better, I would have done better.” Touring together for years added to the strain. Wynonna later joked in an interview that spending 10 years on a tour bus with her mother was no easy task.

But there were also deeper emotional struggles between them, ones that therapy and time could not always fix. “Wy bore the brunt of all the mistakes I made, and we talk about them,” she shared. At one point, they sought counseling together in an effort to repair their bond.

Despite their ups and downs, they still shared a deep connection that remained unbreakable. But Naomi had issues that would later create even more distance between them.

Naomi’s Battle with Mental Illness

While Naomi and Wynonna worked to navigate their complicated relationship, Naomi was facing a private battle of her own. For years, she struggled with severe depression and anxiety. By 2011, her mental health had reached a devastating low. Her depression worsened after The Judds’ “Last Encore” tour.

Without the structure of performing, she felt lost. “My whole life had meaning and purpose, and I lost my purpose,” Naomi explained. She described periods where she wouldn’t leave the house for weeks or even practice basic self-care.

Her condition led to multiple hospitalizations and a regimen of heavy medications. She later revealed that the side effects of her treatment were physically and emotionally exhausting. “My hands shake real bad—medication, nothing I can do about it. And my face, I feel like a balloon,” she admitted.

But for a while, she kept the full extent of her illness hidden—even from her eldest daughter. At one point, she was hospitalized for treatment but did not tell Wynonna until after she had spent over a week in a psychiatric ward. Naomi later admitted that she kept her distance because she feared how Wynonna would react.

“We are so empathic, we can look at each other and absolutely fall in each other’s arms crying without saying a word,” she shared. “We scare each other because we can go so deep.” She relied more on Ashley during her treatment.

She later admitted that neither of her daughters nor her husband, Larry Strickland, could fully help her escape the darkness she was experiencing. In 2016, she opened up about her struggles in her memoir, “River of Time,” revealing that her condition was treatment-resistant, meaning most medications and therapies did little to help.

“I know I can backslide,” she admitted. No matter how much she fought, the illness never fully released its grip on her. When Naomi and Wynonna reunited for The Judds: Final Tour in 2022, it seemed like they were ready to put their past behind them. But just weeks before they were set to take the stage together again, tragedy struck.

Naomi’s Final Years and Tragic Passing

Despite years of therapy, medication, and hospitalizations, her depression had not eased. She had long spoken about how isolating her illness was. She had said, “If I live through this—I want someone to be able to see that they can survive because there’s 40 million of us out there.”

On April 30, 2022, just one day before she and Wynonna were set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Naomi died by suicide at the age of 76. Her daughters released a statement confirming the heartbreaking news.

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” it read. Wynonna later spoke about how difficult it was to process her mother’s passing. “I can’t quite wrap my head around it, and I don’t know that I ever will,” she said.

She reflected on Naomi’s determination in life, saying, “With the same determination she had to live, she was determined to die. It’s so hard to comprehend how someone can be so strong and yet so vulnerable.”

In the weeks leading up to Naomi’s death, Wynonna had been on tour and admitted that they had been somewhat disconnected. Naomi had often spoken about how lonely she felt at home without her daughters.

Wynonna’s final memory of her mother was at the CMT Awards on April 11, 2022, where they performed “Love Can Build a Bridge” together. “The last thing I said to her was ‘I love you,’ and I’m so grateful for that,” she shared.

Ashley and Wynonna Today: Carrying On Their Mother’s Legacy

In the wake of Naomi’s passing, Ashley and Wynonna took different paths in grieving and honoring their mother. Wynonna, who had spent most of her life performing alongside Naomi, chose to continue The Judds’ Final Tour as a tribute

Though she had originally planned to tour with her mother, she instead took the stage with guest artists, including Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill, and Trisha Yearwood. For the singer and actress, music remained the most powerful way to process her emotions.

She dedicated every performance during the tour to Naomi, ensuring her mother’s legacy lived on. Ashley continues her work in activism, focusing on mental health awareness and women’s rights. She has been a vocal advocate for suicide prevention, urging others to have open conversations about mental illness.

Through their advocacy, performances, and continued work, Ashley and Wynonna have made sure their mother’s voice is not forgotten. Naomi Judd’s story will live on for generations to come.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.