Ashley Judd Details Final Moments With Dying Mom Naomi, Behavior Leading Up to Suicide

Ashley Judd is opening about her last moments with mom Naomi Judd.

In The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, which aired over the weekend, Ashley recalled her final conversation with Naomi, who died by suicide at the age of 76 in April 2022.

The Judds were scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on April 30, 2022.

On the morning of Naomi’s death, Ashley received a text from her mother that read “please help.” She said she went to her mother’s home and described seeing her pacing around the kitchen and feeling “uncomfortable in her body,” while saying that she “didn’t want to be here anymore.”

After some time, Naomi revealed to Ashley the reasons she chose to live through her mental health struggles.

“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,” she revealed.

“One of the things she said was me, and I said, ‘You don’t have to worry about me, Mom. I’m okay. I’m okay.’ And she really clocked that in a really deep way,” said Judd.

After the conversation, Ashley recalled Naomi going upstairs of her farmhouse. When Ashley went upstairs to check on her mom, she discovered it was too late.

“When I rounded the corner, I entered her bedroom, and I saw that she had harmed herself,” Ashley recalled.

“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 said.

“When she died, my most earnest wish was to make sure that she was relieved and absolved of her guilt and shame,” Judd continued.

Ashley went on to say how thankful she was to be “born into this human life” and be “chosen by” Naomi.

“It was like this final consummation of the love in the relationship that we had transformed,” Ashley said in a heartfelt reflection on their relationships and Naomi’s final days.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress.