Naomi Judd's Husband Recalls 'Chaotic' Final Months

Larry Strickland, Naomi Judd's husband, discussed the "chaotic" final months before the country star took her own life.

Strickland had been married to Judd for 33 years when she died on April 30 at age 76 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In an interview with People, Strickland shared details of his late wife's struggles. 

"It was a very chaotic, hectic, hectic time," he said. "It was extremely hard. She had several therapists that she was seeing, and her energy level had gotten really low. She was getting really weak."

Strickland was aware that Judd was struggling, but admitted that he did not realize that she had been harboring suicidal thoughts. 

"I just feel like I might have overdone it," he said. "I was trying to get her to eat. I was trying to get her to exercise. I handled her medications and had to make sure she had what she needed. I was trying every way I could."

Strickland added that he wished he had handled Judd's mental health struggles differently, saying he would have been "much softer on her." 

"I would've been gentler and more understanding instead of tired and exhausted because it was wearing me out, too," he said. "To know now that she was contemplating [suicide], I look back and just wish I had been holding her and comforting her instead of pushing her. I don't know if that would've helped, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt."

Earlier this year, Strickland spoke briefly about Judd's final days. She was set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame but died on the eve of the ceremony. To attend the event, she flew home to Nashville, Tennessee from Vienna, Austria, but Strickland noted that it was out of the ordinary for her to fly solo. 

"I was really scared to death about her flying alone all the way from Vienna back to Nashville because I knew how fragile she was," he said, according to E! News. "Well, she made the flight home without any problem." 

After Judd's death, Strickland received a touching letter from a passenger who crossed paths with Naomi that gave him "great, great pleasure and comfort."

"It's a small comfort, I'm sure, but my life seems a lot richer after meeting your wife, however briefly," the email read, according to E! News. "Obviously, I didn't know Naomi at all, but I can tell you she spoke highly and warmly of you, and the life you shared together. Rest assured she loved you and had no qualms about telling me, a stranger on a plane, that was so."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

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