Famous Families
Wynonna and Ashley Judd ‘Shocked’ Not to Be In Late Mom Naomi’s Will: ‘It Was Definitely Unexpected’
This fall, Wynonna Judd will embark on her last tour as the Judds. On it, celebrity friends including Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood will be joining her on stage, yet her mother Naomi Judd’s absence will still be felt by everyone in attendance. Wynonna hopes that this final celebration of the Judds’ music will go a long way toward forgiveness and healing.
News that Naomi, who took her own life on April 30 at age 76, did not include Wynonna, 58, her sister, actress Ashley Judd, 54, or Wynonna’s two children, Elijah, 27, and Grace, 26, in her will came as a surprise to the entire family. Instead, Naomi left her $25 million fortune to Larry Strickland, her husband of 32 years.
“Naomi trusted Larry like no one else, so that’s probably the reason,” says a family friend. “But Wynonna and Ashley were shocked. It was definitely unexpected.”
Of course, the women’s relationship with their mother, who suffered from severe lifelong depression, has known many ups and downs. “Wy bore the brunt of all of the mistakes I made,” admitted Naomi, who gave birth to her eldest at 19. She married Michael Ciminella, who would become Ashley’s father but who left the family when the girls were still small.
“There was too much trauma, abandonment addiction and shame,” Ashley wrote about growing up poor with her sister and single mother in her memoir, All That Is Bitter and Sweet.
Even becoming rich and famous didn’t change things enough. Naomi and her daughters still went through periods of bitterness and estrangement. “There’s no question that the mother-daughter relationship is the most complex on earth,” says Wynonna. “It’s even more complicated than the man-woman thing.”
There has been talk of Wynonna contesting her mother’s will. “Wynonna and Naomi were a good team musically,” says the friend. “Wynonna believes she contributed to her mother’s fame and fortune — that’s why she was she was surprised. She thought she deserved something.”
But like so many families, the Judd women know how to pull together in a crisis. Naomi’s heartbreaking death has succeeded in bringing Wynonna and Ashley closer together — and it’s brought home the realization that there are more important things than money.
“Wynonna and Ashley still have their long-standing issues and disagreements,” says the friend. “But losing their mom so suddenly, and in such a tragic way, has made them realize that life is too short.”
That’s why they will forgive Naomi rather than fight her wishes. “Ashley knows how quirky her mother was,” notes the friend. “Wynonna has a choice: She can stay angry or let it go and move on with her own life. I think she’ll eventually choose forgiveness.”
