The Sad History Of The Judd Family

Naomi Judd and her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley, have a truly complicated relationship.
Together, they've experienced a number of ups and downs that have both brought them
closer and divided them.
Unfortunately, their dark secrets always returned to light, leaving these women battled and
bruised in the public eye.
While Wynonna and Ashley's struggles started in their childhood, Naomi's drama also started
long before her legendary country-music career.
Here's a wide-ranging round-up of their troubles, family dramas, and tragedies.
Sexual abuse
Ashley opened the doors to a painful and disturbing past in her 2011 memoir All That is Bitter
& Sweet.
In it, she revealed numerous incidents in which men took sexual advantage of her, even
as a young child.
Her disturbing accounts started with the revelation that, when she was just 15 years old and modeling
in Japan, she was assaulted by a bar patron who offered her a ride home.
Later, an adult male model attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him.
And her painful revelations didn't end there.
Ashley also revealed she'd been molested by a family member when she was a child, and
while she didn't give any names, Judd said that traumatic experience nearly drove her
to suicide.
She's since channeled that pain into humanitarian relief work with YouthAIDS and the International
Center for Research on Women.
Sisters who spy
In 2013, Ashley uncovered a tracking device on her car and immediately filed a police
report suggesting her half-sister Wynonna was to blame.
She wasn't totally off the mark, either.
It turned out that the device was registered to a private investigator working for Wynonna.
Police reports indicated the device was passed off from Wynonna to her ex-husband, Arch Kelley
III, who tagged the car.
In a bizarre twist, the car was never driven by Ashley, but by Wynonna and Arch's teenage
daughter, Grace.
Ashley believed the device was planted due to an ongoing custody dispute between her
and Wynonna as the girl was in Ashley's care.
Wynonna's husband's arrest
In 2007, Wynonna's life would be changed forever after learning that her second husband, D.R.
Roach, was arrested on child sex assault and battery charges.
At the time, the couple had only been married for four years.
She told Ladies' Home Journal, "My first response when it happened was, I am a mother first
and foremost."
Despite the news, Wynonna knew the type of man she married.
She delivered a shocking confession saying, "I knew what I was getting into and I tried
to change it.
I knew that both Roach and I had issues with addiction when I married him.
I know my life.
I know the people I chose, I know why I chose them and I really thought that I could change
people through loving them enough.
It doesn't work that way."
Five days after Roach's arrest, Wynonna filed for divorce.
Family diss
Important days like weddings usually bring lots of family and fun.
That wasn't the case for Wynonna, who tied the knot for the third time without her mom
and sister's blessing.
Wynonna wed Cactus Moser in June of 2012, with only her children and her new husband's
kids present.
No other family members were notified of the ceremony.
What makes the situation so shocking is how close the Judd family members live to one
another.
Wynonna claimed she just didn't want it to be about anyone other than her new husband
and children.
Ashley enters rehab
In 2006, Ashley checked herself into the Texas-based rehab facility, Shades of Hope Treatment Center.
She stayed a total of 47 days, seeking treatment for depression, isolation, and co-dependency
of relationships.
She told Glamour, "I needed help.
I was in so much pain."
Her decision to seek treatment came in a rather peculiar way.
Ashley was visiting sister Wynonna, who was getting help for food addiction when counselors
approached her about the idea.
"They said, 'No one ever does an intervention on people like you.
You look too good.
You're too smart and together.
But you [and Wynonna] come from the same family, so you come from the same wound.'
No one had validated my pain before."
Who is Wynonna's father?
It's a popular opinion that no mother should ever hold secrets from her child — especially
secrets that are life-altering.
Naomi was guilty of that, however, when she withheld news that Wynonna and Ashley had
different fathers.
Wynonna's dad is reportedly Charles Jordan, not Michael C. Ciminella whom Naomi rushed
to marry in 1964, the same year Wynonna was born.
Michael and Naomi welcomed daughter Ashley in 1968.
Wynonna told Oprah in 2003, "I've just now come to realize nine years later, I'm really
angry.
Being authentic and knowing who you are, not just what you do, is sacred and I'm doing
it now, and all the work is painful."
To make matters worse, Ashley confessed to knowing the dark secret long before anyone
else.
"I think not knowing the truth is what has messed her up rather than having found out.
I had more compassion and understanding for her because I knew.
It's interesting that I didn't consider it my place to tell her."
Moving forward
There's no doubt the Judd family has had a rough ride through the decades.
The tabloids have had a front row seat at witnessing the unity — and destruction — of
this troubled family.
With so many dark secrets now in the Judd ladies' past, maybe they can now look forward
to a brighter future as a family.
After all ...
"Love can build a bridge."
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The Sad History Of The Judd Family

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