During an appearance on the Making Space with Hoda Kotb podcast, singer Wynonna Judd recounted the 2022 CMT Awards appearance that ended up being The Judds' final time on stage. Pre-recorded in downtown Nashville, the rendition of 1990's "Love Can Build a Bridge" aired April 2 and marked the duo's first awards show performance in two decades. Naomi died on April 30, the day before The Judds' Country Music Hall of Fame induction.
Wynonna described her mother as "very fragile" when the mother-daughter duo took the stage for the final time.
"I think it's because she hadn't sung in a long time," she shared. "And I think when our parents get older, their world gets smaller. And she was late (that night), and she is never late. I think she was nervous. And I think it was so much of an expectation to do it for CMT Awards, and I just think it was, like, imagine being that nervous and having to go out."
Wynonna initially hesitated to embrace Naomi.
"The first thought in my head was, no, I don't want to hug her or comfort her. I want to pull her wig off," she shared. "Because that was the dynamics of our relationship. It was tough and tender."
However, Wynonna sensed something different about the moment.
"It was sometimes hard for me to be tender with mom, because I'm the lead singer, and I'm on my own version of life, on my own journey," she said. "And I think it occurred to me, though. All of a sudden, she looked at me and blinked, and I knew then that something wasn't right in terms of her being off a little bit, like, nervous. I softened, which I think is God's grace. I just kind of reached out and touched her hand, like, 'I'm here. I got you. It's okay.'"
As she copes with the loss, Wynonna converses with her mother while aiming to support those struggling with mental illness.
"I want to help other people not do what my mother [did]," she added. "I talk to her a lot about, 'What am I supposed to do now? We were supposed to do a record together. We were supposed to do this tour together. We're supposed to, we're supposed to ... .' Life is a mystery, you know?"
