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Award-winning country music legend Naomi Judd died on Saturday afternoon (April 30) at age 76. Her daughters, Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd, confirmed at the time that they “lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.”
Multiple sources confirmed to PEOPLE that Naomi died by suicide, the outlet reported on Monday afternoon (May 2), noting that a representative for Naomi has not commented as of publication time. The matriarch of the iconic mother-daughter duo The Judds was a longtime mental health awareness advocate. She told PEOPLE in 2016, “nobody can understand it unless you've been there.”
Ashley and Wynonna, the other half of the mother-daughter country duo, announced in a statement over the weekend: “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
Naomi passed away one day before The Judds were set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was held on Sunday (May 1), keeping with the Judd family wishes. Wynonna and Ashley attended the event and spoke about their late mother. Wynonna observed: “It’s a very strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed.” Naomi and Wynonna were also set to embark on The Final Tour later this year.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide or is in emotional distress, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.