By Athena Voulgaropoulos
For the first time on television, Judds fans get an intimate glimpse of the private and public lives of country music icons Naomi and Wynonna Judd in the new docu-series The Judds, premiering April 10 on OWN.
The six-episode series follows the legendary mother/daughter duo as they reunite for their first concert tour in 10 years. Cameras record every step of their emotional journey as they work to heal their strain
Through it all, Naomi and Wynonna tell their personal story openly and honestly. Naomi confesses painful secrets from her childhood, Wynonna speaks candidly about finding new love and the challenges of being a single, working mom, and together they discuss their fears about the tour.
We recently spoke with the pair about their new series.
Docu-reality series can be disastrous for some families. Why risk allowing cameras to document the stress of such a high-profile reunion tour and your strained relationship? What made you want to do this?
Wynonna Judd: It’s been a lifelong process, working with Mom and learning how to have a healthy relationship. We have both worked so hard individually and collectively as a family, and I myself feel so celebratory having come so far from where we started years ago. It’s exciting for me as a daughter to once again celebrate Mom, and as an artist to be onstage again together is just such a gift and, something that is even more sacred, getting to share this remarkable time in musical “herstory.” As a mother myself, it is such a remarkable thing to watch [my children] Grace and Elijah as they are witnesses to the Judd legacy we are leaving them.
Naomi Judd: I was half asleep when they asked me. After all the mistakes I’ve made, and the old truth about “if I’d known better, I’d have done better,” I’m in a place where I feel secure inwardly because I’m finally understanding that I can’t change anyone or control unfolding situations. And I’m living from an awareness where I get to control my reaction and to acknowledge the good place and the great communication techniques Wynonna and I are practicing. I thought this would be great homework.
Your fans want more than ever to see you two happy and healthy. Where are you at right now in terms of your relationship and your health?
Wynonna: I feel an incredible sense of honor and respect for the woman that gave birth to me 46 years ago. I have watched Mom work so hard her entire life and the amazing thing for me in doing this docu-series, with having this incredible opportunity on OWN, is that I am able to share part of my success and my life with someone I love so much. It’s a win-win! I’m discovering a whole new career while getting to share it with Mom and that is so rare for anyone.
My health is better than it has been in years. I am definitely living more and more deliberately. I am getting my groove back, baby!
Naomi: I’m in the best place I’ve ever been. Meaning that I’ve learned how to stop and breathe — acknowledge, accept and then allow my own feelings. Plus, Wynonna’s own personal work contributes greatly to both of us feeling safer. Also, I’ve discovered Pilates and I wish I had known about it 30 years ago.
Tell us some of your favorite moments of the tour that we can look forward to seeing in the series. Conversely, are there any moments you wish weren’t captured on camera?
Wynonna: My most favorite moments on the tour were definitely time spent with the fans in the meet and greets. Gathering together the generations, hearing all the personal stories about how our music has impacted so many lives, learning about the next generation of “Judd-heads” and seeing the smiles on their faces when we got to stand together for the special photo with our fans each night. It really felt like they all became part of our “family of choice.” The tour bonded a lot of people together.
The toughest moments for me during the filming of Season 1 were the times when Mom was processing really painful stuff that has happened in her life, and sitting there with her as she walked through that pain, sadness and anger. I learned things about her childhood that I never knew. There were some really rough moments in watching her process and feel that trauma, and know[ing] that there was nothing I could do to fix it or save her from feeling her emotions. I learned that sometimes what someone really needs is just for you to be there with them to listen, support and affirm in their time of need. It was a gift that I was grateful I could give her, and yet it cost me a lot to see her so vulnerable.
Naomi: Wynonna and I have the best time that any two people can have. I can make her laugh harder than anybody, as she can me. There are so many “in the moment” situations where I thought I would rather be here with her doing this than anywhere on the planet. Conversely, there are situations that brought out muscle-memory reactions, where I didn’t take time to step back and observe the situation and respond. But, hey, it’s all part of the human experience of giving birth to a new way of being in an intimate relationship — it can be messy and painful. I will be thoroughly disgusted with myself when I see it on TV, like a real-life crime being caught on a video. The defendant is guilty.
If there are any lessons to be learned on fame, fortune and mother/daughter relationships, what would you share?
Wynonna: What a layered question! My first thought is that at the end of the day, what we all truly want is to really be known, to be accepted and loved for who we are, not for what we can do for the world.
Fame can often take you away from who you really are authentically, and you sometimes end up developing ways to cope with the world’s opinions of you by trying to keep up what is expected of you, and so we often find ourselves hiding behind a mask that protects us from all the pressure of what fame brings.
Fortune is an interesting part to my story. I wrote a book about what it’s like to go from welfare to millionaire at such a young age. Money gives you choices, and it is what we do with money that can be a blessing or a burden. I have experienced both.
The mother/daughter relationship is the most complex relationship, I think. The best gift that Mom and I have been able to fully give to each other is to finally agree to disagree, to really learn to listen to the other one and accept them for who they truly are, that their reality is going to be different than yours and in that moment of disconnect, to ask yourself, “Would I rather be right or be loved?” I think and feel that the other gift we have worked really hard at is to ask for what we need and want in the relationship, and to have really healthy boundaries with one another. If/when one of us crosses that boundary, the other one says, “That doesn’t work for me. What I would need or want right now is ________” and hold that person accountable by continuing to ask, continuing to hold true to what you need in the relationship.