Wynonna Judd Reflects On Naomi Judd's Death: 'I Cry A Lot'

It seems Wynonna Judd is feeling more comfortable opening up about dealing with the loss of her mother, Naomi Judd, who took her own life at age 76 in April 2022.

Wynonna, 58, and her mother made up the country music duo known as The Judds, who were beloved by the country music community. Although many found it difficult to cope with the loss of a music legend, Wynonna decided she was ready to open up about her own grieving process in a new interview.

Wyonna Judd told PEOPLE magazine that she is a "walking contradiction" and feels conflicting emotions when reflecting on the loss of her mother.

"I'll tell you what I know about death. In death, there is life. I feel both at the same time simultaneously," she said. "I feel joy and sorrow. I'm walking in paradox. I'm literally a walking contradiction. I feel joy. I feel pain. I feel light. I feel dark."

Although she considers herself to be a "pretty tough" person, she confessed that she has a "tender" side when reflecting on the loss of her mother. Although she says that she has relied on her "really wicked sense of humor" to try to navigate the tragedy with her sister, Ashley Judd, she said "it depends" when she reflected on how she was "coping" with her mother's death.

"I'm on the phone talking and all of a sudden I'll just begin to weep. Then 10 minutes later, I'm making dinner and I'm talking to my husband about our date night," she admitted. "Then my granddaughter comes and I cry some more. I cry a lot."

However, she said that all of her tears are not "a sign of weakness" and assured her followers that it's "okay" to cry over the loss of a loved one. "When you lose someone you love, it's like, 'Holy crap, this is really happening. Is this really happening?' Your brain goes, 'No, this isn't really happening,'" she said. "Then you go home and I realize, yeah, my mom's not here anymore."

Despite her grief, Wynonna will continue to perform in order to honor her late mother. Later this month, on September 30, she will embark on The Judds: The Final Tour. Although it was supposed to be the final tour between the mother and daughter duo, Wynonna is determined to pay tribute to her mother and visit the many fans who want to remember her legacy.

"This is my opportunity to step into a situation that I don't know that I am ready to do what I'm about to do, but I think it's going to heal me," she said. "I'm teaching what I want to learn, which is how to have peace and joy in a really negative [space]. I want people to know that they're loved. I want people to know that there is hope."

Fortunately, Wynonna won't be completely alone on stage. Special guests like Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Brandi Carlile, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and Ashley McBryde will join her in paying tribute to Naomi's legacy. The tour will kick off in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and wrap up in October. Shortly after, Wynonna will head to Mexico for a few days to perform at Brandi Carlile's Girls Just Wanna Weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel and Barceló Maya Riviera.

In a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Wynonna opened up about what it was like to accept The Judds' induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame only one day after her mother had taken her own life with a firearm.

"Though my heart's broken, I will continue to sing, because that's what we do," she said at the time. One month after her death, at a CMT special honoring her late mother, Wynonna revealed that the tour would still go on as planned because that's what her mother would want.

"The show must go on, as hard as it may be, and we will show up together, and you will carry me as you've carried me for 38 years," she said. "That's what she would want, right?"