Why Wynonna Judd Says She and Sister Ashley Are ‘Not as Close as I’d Like to Be’

Wynonna Judd is opening up about her complicated relationship with younger sister Ashley Judd.

Wynonna, 60, appeared on Talking in Circles with Clint Black on May 23, and reflected on the ways in which her closeness with Ashley, 57, has fluctuated over the years as they each found fame and success.

“Ashley’s doing well. I don’t see her very much, and we’re not as close as I’d like to be, but that’s because success took us away from each other,” Wynonna said. “It’s a funny thing. There’s a bit of a sadness because being famous takes you from home.”

The “Why Not Me” singer and the Divergent actress were both born to mom Naomi Judd, who died by suicide in April 2022 at age 76. Because the family struggled financially, Wynonna was often left with her sister while Naomi, a single mother who gave birth to Wynonna at 18, went to work.

“I raised Ashley. That’s why we have such a funny relationship, ‘cause she calls me ‘sister mommy.’ And I’m a little bit sad about that, ‘cause I didn’t get to be her sister,” Wynonna told Black. “It was just the two of us, trying to survive. I’m bigger and meaner than her, ‘cause I had to be. I had to be mean ‘cause I had to keep it together. When you’re 14 years old, and your mom is working all the time and you learn to drive…”

She continued, “I was responsible for a lot. And she put me in charge. And that’s just the way it was. You grow up with a single parent, what are you gonna do? We made it through, didn’t we?

When Wynonna was in her late teens, she and Naomi found success as singers with the duo The Judds. Ashley, meanwhile, became an actress, and had her breakout role in 1993 with the film Ruby in Paradise.

After losing their mother, Wynonna told PEOPLE in 2022 that she was relying on Ashley, as she’d now lost both of her parents.

“Both my parents are gone, and I’m relying on Ashley. She’s relying on me in a different way that’s about compassion. It’s not about being successful and smart and capable,” she said. “It’s about, ‘I love you.’ ‘I love you, too.’ We’re vulnerable with each other, and we’re tender… Ashley and I are very different people, and we are learning that we have more in common than we don’t.”

Ashley, meanwhile, spoke about their sibling bond on the Healing with David Kessler podcast that same year, explaining that they were processing Naomi’s death differently, but still getting along.

“Sister came over yesterday and spent the day with me and spent the night and we talked about mom, we talked about social issues,” she said. “She gave me a foot rub and she’s in a pretty different place than I am right now. And we don’t have to be congruent in order to have compassion for each other and I think that that’s a really important grace that family members can hopefully learn to give each other.”

The sisters recently reflected on their ups and downs in a new Lifetime docuseries titled The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, which premiered earlier this month.

Ahead of the release, Naomi’s widower Larry Strickland spoke to PEOPLE, and said his late wife’s death brought her daughters closer.