Two years after Naomi Judd’s death, Wynonna Judd can still feel her presence on the stage.
The Grammy winner spoke with Us Weekly and shared that she’s still working through the grief of losing Naomi in April 2022, but she’s in a happier and healthier place.
The mother-daughter duo sang as The Judds through the 1980s but broke up in 1991 due to Naomi’s health. Wynonna and Naomi Judd planned a reunion tour in 2022. However, Naomi took her own life before the first concert.
To honor her late mother, Wynonna did not cancel the tour. Instead, she played every stop and ultimately added several more performances. Her friends Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Tanya Tucker, and Martina McBride took turns standing in Naomi’s place.
Following the shows, Wynonna continued to set concert dates and travel so she could feel her mother’s presence on stage.
Wynonna Judd “Can See Angels”
When asked if she still talked to Naomi, Wynonna said she does, whenever she performs.
“I look up a lot because I see angels,” she added. “Now I do it with Mom. I’m like, ‘What the hell are you doing? Where are you, and why are you not here? And why are we not singing together again?'”
Wynonna Judd has been candid about her difficult healing journey. For months, she dealt with both anger and guilt over the suicide. But she’s worked on “forgiveness” and is “in a really good place” today.
“[At a fan club party] last night, everyone had on Judds T-shirts from the ’80s and ’90s,” she shared. “I thought, ‘I have a choice: I can either be better or bitter.’ My grief comes and goes. I see it as a gift in terms of the healing part.”
The singer hopes her fans remember that feelings, even sadness, serve a purpose, and they should “embrace” the waves when they come.
“Something will happen and you start to cry and think, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ Then you realize there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s perfectly fine to cry,” she continued. “It’s important to embrace it and lean into it. I cry as much as I need to and when it’s time to be done, it will be,” she said.
This story’s featured image is by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ACM.
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