During Lifetime’s two-night docuseries The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, Ashley Judd reflected on her final moment with her mom, Naomi Judd.
Naomi, born Diana Ellen Judd, died by suicide on April 30, 2022, at the age of 76.
Naomi and her eldest daughter, Wynonna Judd, were scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as The Judds on April 30, so Ashley traveled to her mother’s farmhouse in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, a couple of days earlier to help her prepare for the honor.
“On the evening of the 28th, [Mom] went to sleep and I went to sleep. When I woke up, I had a text from Mom that just said, ‘Please help.’ When I got there, Mom was very uncomfortable in her body, pacing around the kitchen and expressing that she didn’t want to be here anymore,” Ashley recalled.
“I put my hand on her leg and she patted me and she slowly softened and came back to herself and calmed down and shared a couple of things that I would say are private, between us, about why she chose to continue to live,” the Double Jeopardy actress added.
Ashley then explained that her mother went upstairs. “When I rounded the corner, I entered her bedroom, and I saw that she had harmed herself,” Ashley detailed.
“And then I spent the next whatever it was—half hour—just holding my mother and talking to her, and the first thing I said to her was, ‘It’s OK, I’ve seen how much you’ve been suffering,’” she continued. “When she died, my most earnest wish was to make sure that she was relieved and absolved of her guilt and shame.”
Ashley concluded that she was ultimately grateful she got to be there for Naomi. “It was like this final consummation of the love in the relationship that we had transformed,” she said. “What an honor, to be born into this human life, to be chosen by her. I got to hold space, I got to bookend. And I’m just so glad I was there.”
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
