Ashley Judd Confesses What Her Mom, Naomi, Said Before She Died

Naomi Judd at 2012 American Humane Association presenting Military Dog Award Category. Photo courtesy of State Farm under CC BY 2.0.

Ashley Judd didn't just lose her mother. She held her as she died.

In a gut-wrenching moment that will never leave her — or anyone who's heard the story — the actress opened up about the day country music legend Naomi Judd took her own life. And what she shared was as devastating as it was brave.

A Text Message That Changed Everything

It started with a text. Just two words: "pls help," PEOPLE reported.

Ashley rushed to Naomi's Tennessee home. The date was April 30, 2022. The gravity of what she'd find — and the role she would play in her mother's final minutes — would haunt her forever.

Inside, Naomi was pacing the kitchen. She told Ashley she "didn't want to be here anymore," according to PEOPLE.

Then, in a heartbreaking moment of clarity, Naomi told her daughter that she was one of the reasons she had kept going as long as she had. As reported by PEOPLE, Ashley, 57, tried to comfort her saying, "You don't have to worry about me, Mom. I'm okay. I'm okay."

The Silence Upstairs

Not long after, Naomi went upstairs.

Ashley called out to her. No answer.

When she found her mother in the bedroom, the pain was instant and visceral. Naomi Judd had shot herself.

For the next 30 minutes, Ashley did something few children could bear — she stayed. She held her mother, talked to her, and tried to make peace.

"The first thing I said to her was, 'It's okay, it's okay. I've seen how much you've been suffering,'" Ashley said, according to PEOPLE.

A Goodbye Meant to Heal

They breathed together.

Ashley stated, "When she died, my most earnest wish was to make sure that she was relieved and absolved of her guilt and her shame. I was holding her hand. I was kissing her. She was so soft. She smelled so pretty," according to PEOPLE.

Her only wish in those final moments? To let Naomi leave this world knowing she was loved — and forgiven.

A Family's Open Grief

Naomi Judd, a six-time Grammy winner and half of the mother-daughter duo The Judds, was 76. She had long been open about her battles with mental illness, including "extreme" depression and PTSD, according to Page Six.

An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death as suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"We have always shared openly both the joys of being family as well as its sorrows, too," the family said in a statement, according to NPR. "One part of our story is that our matriarch was dogged by an unfair foe. She was treated for PTSD and bipolar disorder, to which millions of Americans can relate."

Ashley and her sister Wynonna Judd were left devastated. But the tragedy also drew them closer than ever.

A Painful Story Told on Her Own Terms

Ashley is telling the story in "The Judd Family: Truth Be Told," the Lifetime docuseries that peels back the curtain on fame, family, and the kind of pain that lives offstage.

By sharing every raw detail — from that haunting text to the final kiss — Ashley isn't just grieving. She's giving others permission to speak about the unbearable.

Naomi Judd was a star. But to Ashley, she was mom. And her last act of love wasn't a grand tribute or a stage goodbye.

It was staying. Holding on. Letting go.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741, or go to Lifeline.

References: Ashley Judd recalls painful last conversation with mom Naomi as she lay dying in her arms | Ashley Judd Reveals What She Said in Her Final Conversation with Mom Naomi as She Lay Dying | The autopsy for Naomi Judd confirms details of her death that her family released