Ashley Judd Celebrates Her First Birthday Without Mother Naomi Judd With Touching Tribute

It’s been one year since country music icon Naomi Judd died by suicide. Since then, her famous mother-daughter duo The Judds have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, a ceremony that took place just days after her death. Wynonna Judd recently paid tribute to her mother with a touching performance at the 2023 CMAs. And now, daughter Ashley is reflecting on her mother’s love and impact as she celebrates her first birthday without her. 

The Double Jeaoprday star shared a card that her mother wrote around the time she was born 55 years ago. She also shared a photo of her eating cake from her bed. Ashley captioned the Instagram post: “My birthday. Everyone who loves me is making it as soft (cake in bed) and precious as they can, as my mind can’t help but calculate that on my last birthday, Mom was a scant 11 days from her death by crushing suicide,” she wrote. “So it is my first without her. I think of her constantly.” Ashley read over her baby announcement and remembered how Naomi loved to tell her about the day she was born every year.

“During my birthday at some point she would glow, patting my arm, ‘You were brown when you came out, surprised me so, and the sweetest, easiest baby….how I loved you, I had to swat peoples’ hands, they wanted to touch you,’ and patter on about my baby stories,” Ashley added in the caption. “I hope all parents do that for their children on their birthdays.”

In Wynonna’s first interview after her mother’s death, she revealed how she said goodbye to the beloved star. “I got the call, and I went over, and I saw her, and that was that,” Wynonna told CBS Sunday Morning. “I said goodbye to her in the hospital, and I closed her eyes, and I kissed her forehead, and that was that. And the next thing I know, I’m sitting here on the front porch, on the side porch … you know, and I’m just tryin’ to figure out what’s next.” 

Ashley served as the family spokesperson in the immediate aftermath of Naomi’s death. The family is now battling to have documents related to Naomi’s death sealed and not released to the public.