The Judd Sisters Share Family Secrets in New Lifetime Documentary: ‘A Blessing and A Burden’

‘The Judd Family: Truth Be Told’ airs Mother’s Day weekend on Lifetime

Sisters Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd are opening up about their family like never before in an all-new documentary by Lifetime.

The Judd Family: Truth Be Told sees the actress and the singer, 56 and 60, respectively, discuss their upbringing and stardom in the four-part series, set to be released on Mother’s Day weekend.

“You love me?” the late matriarch, Naomi Judd, asks in the opening, smiling as she holds Wynonna’s head to shake it “yes.”

“You ever gonna leave me?” is the next question as she again shakes her daughter’s head, but this time to read “no.”

The mother of two cheerfully replied, “Okay,” as the trailer begins.

The Judds (Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd) performing at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 21, 1988

Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd in New York City in May 1988.Ebet Roberts/Getty

Archival footage of the mother-daughter music duo performing plays as a narrator mentions their “14 No. 1s.”

Ashley is seen in a confessional scene admitting, “I was so proud of their success.”

Country singer Reba McEntire also appears, adding, “It’s heavenly music.”

Her words were blended with Wynonna’s, who said, “It was magical on stage, but off stage…” The “Love Can Build a Bridge” singer never finished her sentence, instead letting out a heavy exhale, foreshadowing the topics to come.

According to the narrator, “Naomi spent her whole life building this narrative,” as Ashley said her mother “had no idea what I went through as a child.”

“I was old enough to know that something was wrong,” Wynonna said in a separate scene.

Reba McEntire in "The Judd Family: Truth Be Told"

Reba McEntire in Lifetime’s The Judd Family: Truth Be Told.Lifetime

“Big secrets” were allegedly kept within the Judd family, including ones about male relatives being “predators.”

The upcoming Lifetime documentary also sees Wynonna say, “It’s a blessing and a burden to be that close to your mother.” She later confesses, “I’ve never talked about this before.”

Before the trailer ends, there’s past footage of The Judds during a television appearance. “They say you have to live the blues to write about them,” Wynonna said as her mother sat beside her, smiling.

In addition to the famous siblings and the country star, 70, The Judd Family: Truth Be Told also features Naomi’s widower Larry Strickland and Don Potter.

Ashley Judd in "The Judd Family: Truth Be Told"

Ashley Judd in Lifetime’s The Judd Family: Truth Be Told.Lifetime

The program will explore “the complex mother-daughter dynamics and intergenerational trauma as seen through the eyes of The Judd Family,” per a press release.

Close family members will also share their stories, as fans will also have the opportunity to see home videos and hear unreleased songs and audio.

“From Naomi’s beginnings in Kentucky as a young teen mom, then known as Dianna, struggling to survive with her young daughters, the doc illustrates how the famous country music mother-daughter duo of Naomi and Wynonna Judd came to be and where Ashley stood at the height of Naomi and Wynonna’s fame,” the release adds.

Naomi died by suicide on April 30, 2022 after struggling with mental illness for years. She was 76 years old.