NEWSWynonna Judd Confesses 'Not Enabling' Estranged Daughter Grace Kelley Through Addiction and Legal Woes Was the 'Hardest' Thing: 'I Had to Say No'
Wynonna Judd revealed 'saying no' to Grace Kelley was difficult.
Oct. 8 2026, Published 4:12 p.m. ET
Wynonna Judd revealed the hardest moment in her relationship with her estranged daughter.
The country music star opened up about supporting her only daughter, Grace Kelley, through her bouts with addiction and legal struggles on the October 8 episode of TODAY With Jenna and Sheinelle.
"The hardest thing I ever did was say 'no' to my child," she told hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones.
Wynonna Judd and Grace Kelley have been estranged for at least a year.
Kelley and Judd have not spoken in at least a year, as the 30-year-old serves a 15-month prison sentence for driving with a suspended or revoked license.
The woman has had her fair share of legal troubles as she battles years-long addiction. Judd now takes care of her 4-year-old daughter, Kaliyah, and found out with the rest of the world, that Kelley is pregnant with her second child while in custody.
"When she was hungry and needed a car, I bought things. I took her recovery very seriously and tried to help her," Judd added.
'That's the Hardest Thing'
Wynonna Judd had to stop enabling her daughter.
The musician noted the importance of continuing to reach out to a family member who is struggling like her daughter.
"[It's important to] keep reaching out and not enabling," she advised.
Judd has opened up in the past about Kelley choosing to blame her struggles on her famous mother. The woman previously alleged that Judd's second husband, D.R. Roach, molested her as a little girl and her mother refused to step in.
"I had to stop and I had to say 'No,'" Judd reflected. "You're 30 years old and it's time for you to stop blaming me and do the work yourself. That's the hardest thing."
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Wynonna Judd did work on herself in hopes of inspiring her daughter.
Judd added that she tried to look inward on her journey to help her daughter, hoping that it would inspire Kelley to do some work on herself as well.
"I went to work on me... I had a lot of cracks in my armor, but that's how the light gets out," she gushed.
"So I feel like if I'm working hard, she's going to see I'm doing good," the star continued. "And she's going to want that recovery for herself."
'Grace Is My Sweetie'
Wynonna Judd is raising her granddaughter, Kaliyah.
Despite the hard work she's doing to keep herself, her daughter and her granddaughter afloat, Judd gushed that she "misses [Kelley] terribly."
"Grace is my sweetie," she admitted.
The star said Grace's daughter had become a bright spot through her struggles and the death of her mother, Naomi Judd, in 2022.
"She has filled my heart with such peace and joy," she shared.
