Wynonna Judd and her actor sister Ashley have grown closer together since their mother Naomi’s death in April 2022.
But Wynonna still wishes that their bond was stronger.
She opens up about the complicated dynamics that factor into their sibling relationship in a new installment of Clint Black‘s Circle Network show, Talking in Circles With Clint Black.
“I raised Ashley. That’s why we have such a funny relationship, because she calls me sister-mommy,” Wynonna relates. “And I’m a little bit sad about that, because I didn’t get to be her sister.”
Wynonna is about three years older than Ashley, and the two sisters spent much of their early years as the children of a single mom.
Of course, Naomi Judd and Wynonna would later go on to ascend to country superstardom as the mother-daughter duo The Judds. But in their early years as a family, they had very little money, and Naomi was constantly working to provide for the kids, leaving Wynonna to care for her little sister.
“I’m bigger and meaner than her, because I had to be,” the singer goes on to say.
Read More: Naomi Judd’s Death ‘Forced’ Sisters Ashley + Wynonna Together
“When you’re 14 years old and your mom is working all the time and you learn to drive — I was responsible for a lot, and she put me in charge, and that’s just the way it was,” Wynonna continues. “You grow up with a single parent, what are you gonna do. We made it, and it’s a miracle that we’re all able to do what we love.”
While Wynonna and Naomi pursued musical stardom, Ashley became a successful actor. Though she’s proud of that success, Wynonna now says that their separate paths forced her and her sister apart.
“I don’t see her very much, and we’re not as close as I’d like to be,” she admits. “But that’s because success took us away from each other.
Read More: The Judds’ Documentary Teaser Unearths a Never-Before-Heard Song
“It’s a funny thing. There’s a bit of sadness, because being famous takes you from home,” Wynonna reflects.
Naomi died by suicide in 2022 at the age of 76. Elsewhere in her conversation with Black, Wynonna reflects on her grieving process and the time she spent completing the Judds’ final tour, which had been planned and announced before Naomi’s death.
The Judds have 14 No. 1 songs and dominated Duo and Group of the Year awards at both the CMA and ACM Awards during the 1980s. They also recorded several dozen great songs that never made radio. Here are their Top 10 songs ever.