Wynonna Judd's mom talked about taking her own life 'a lot'
Naomi Judd took died by suicide in her home outside of Nashville, Tennessee, in April 2022 at the age of 76.
Wynonna Judd was not surprised by her mom Naomi Judd's death.
The singer, who joined forces with her daughter to form the musical duo The Judds in the 1980s, died by suicide in her home in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee, in April 2022 at the age of 76, after suffering from depression, and country star Wynonna said Naomi foreshadowed her own death.
Speaking on All There Is with Anderson Cooper, the 59-year-old broadcaster asked the No One Else on Earth hitmaker if she was "surprised" by her mom's passing, and she replied: "No."
Wynonna, 62, explained: "She talked about it a lot, even to her grandson who’s a deputy, about jumping off a bridge. And she talked about it so much with me. I don’t know who else, besides [sister] Ashley, but she talked about it a lot.
"And I think I got to the point where, ‘no, no, no, no, no, no. You’re not gonna do that."
The five-time Grammy winner recalled telling Naomi that she had "too much to live for".
Wynonna told Anderson that she does not remember when her mom first spoke about taking her own life because Naomi "talked about it so much".
But added: "I do know that she was always watching those shows, those damn shows on TV about stuff like that.
"I just remember thinking, ‘What is she doing? I don’t understand.'
"She’d call me and say, 'I don’t want to be here anymore.' And I’d go over and spend the night with her. It was awful."
The Tell Me Why artist continued: "She was really struggling in the end."
Wynonna and actress Ashley Judd, 58, announced Naomi's death in a statement, and shortly afterwards, the I Saw the Light entertainer admitted that she would never be able to "fully accept" Naomi taking her own life.
Taking to Instagram, Wynonna penned: "I DO know, that the pain of losing Mom on 4/30 to suicide is so great, that I often feel like I’m not ever going to be able to fully accept and surrender to the truth that she left the way she did. This cannot be how The Judds story ends. (sic)"
The Love Is Alive performer, who has Grace, 30, and Elijah, 31, with ex-husband Arch Kelley III, welcomed her first grandchild just days before Naomi's death.
And the star explained that she needs to do "the right thing" in order to have a "healthier" approach to life but still feels "helpless" but will continue to sing.
Wynonna added: "I DO know, that in order to be a healthier grandparent to my firstborn grandchild Kaliyah, (born 4/13, 2 weeks and 2 days before Mom left), to break the cycle of addiction and family dysfunction, that I must continue to show up for myself (first) and do the personal healing work.
"I know that it is a simple steps program, and those steps are not easy to take at times. Therefore, I’ve made a commitment to keep doing the “next right thing,” and schedule weekly appointments so that I continue with the ongoing work, even when I have good days.
"I DO know, that I feel so helpless - right now especially. I really DO know, that I’m not able to do this grieving thing all by myself, and that it’s okay to reach out for help. I will continue to fight for my faith, for my SELF, for my family, and I WILL continue to show up and sing. (sic)"
