I was at the house visiting as I am every day," an emotional Ashley Judd recalled of the last time she saw her mom, Naomi, alive at the country music legend's Tennessee home on April 30. "Mom said to me, 'Will you stay with me?' and I said, 'Of course I will,"" she continued. Ashley had no idea they would be the final words she'd ever hear her mom speak. After welcoming a visitor outside, Ashley went back in to find her mom dead of a gunshot wound at age 76. "I went upstairs to let her know that the friend was there and I discovered her," she said. "I have both grief and trauma from discovering her." Three months later, that feeling of devastation is mixed with shock and anger. In early August, it was revealed Naomi left both Ashley, 54, and her 58-year-old sister, Wynonna (one-half of the hugely successful singing duo the Judds with Naomi), out of her will. "It's no secret Naomi's relationship with the girls was fraught over the years," says an insider, "but cutting them out of the will was a final slap in the face." Now the sisters who also have a history of in-fighting and bad blood-are at war over what's left of Naomi's fortune. (Prior to her death, Naomi named her husband of 33 years, Larry Strickland, executor of her estate.) "Ashley and Wynonna have famously disagreed over the years and the fear is that instead of Naomi's death bringing them closer, it might tear them further apart," says the insider.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEN GETS CLEAN!
Ben Affleck has taken a lot of flak for the massive back tattoo he got after his 2015 separation from Jennifer Garner.
LIAM PAYNE: SHOCKING ARRESTS
In the weeks since Liam Payne’s Oct. 16 death in a fall from the balcony of the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, new details have helped clarify what happened the night of the tragedy.
HUGH & SUTTON: READY TO GO PUBLIC
Now that they’re free from their respective spouses, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster are looking forward.
GLADIATOR II
Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington In theaters Fri., Nov. 22 R
A BABY AT LAST!
After a miscarriage last year, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting again.
ZACH & BRIANNA: $12 MILLION HUSH MONEY!
AFTER BEING BLINDSIDED BY THEIR BREAKUP, ZACH BRYAN'S EX BRIANNA LAPAGLIA ISN'T GOING QUIETLY.
First Lady Feud!
BREAKING WITH TRADITION, MELANIA TRUMP REFUSED TO MEET WITH JILL BIDEN AFTER THE ELECTION, SIGNALING SHE’S GOING TO BE HANDS-OFF IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Taylor's GAME-DAY EVOLUTION!
TAYLOR SWIFT'S STYLE HAS CHANGED FROM SIDELINE SWEETIE TO FULL-ON WAG SINCE BECOMING TRAVIS KELCE'S GIRLFRIEND IN 2023.
TOM'S CELIBACY PACT
“Tom’s not out there chasing short-term flings,” says an insider. He’s content with being single.”
BEHIND HER SILENCE: Pain, Loyalty and the Drive to Be Queen
She appeared to be back in regal form, stunning in her black velvet–trimmed military-style coat and elegant veil.