One song on Wynonna Judd‘s upcoming The Hard Truth album, “The Hopeful Lie,” will draw inspiration on the singer’s estrangement from her daughter Grace, a fractured relationship exacerbated by Grace’s long addiction battle.
“It’s hell on earth,” Judd tells Taste of Country.
30-year-old Grace Pauline Kelley is one of two children Judd shares with her first husband Arch Kelley III. Her legal problems date back to 2015, when she was arrested in Nashville and charged with manufacturing meth.
Since then, Kelley has faced more charges over drug-related offenses, theft and parole violations.
How Did Wynonna Judd’s Estrangement From Her Daughter Inspire Her New Song?
Judd says that her inspiration for “The Hopeful Lie” came partially from Grace, and partially from other addicts she has loved over the course of her life.
In particular, she says it’s about co-dependency. Judd has learned that ending a cycle of enabling with an addicted loved one often means losing the relationship altogether.
Read More: Wynonna Judd Admits She’s Still ‘In Denial’ After Dolly Parton’s Death
“Enabling means that you’re helping them continue to do their disease. Whether you give them money, or a place to stay, you buy them something,” she explains. “And in my case, it’s my kid, so it was really hard to cut it off. Once the money ran out, she ran out too.”
Now, Judd continues, “I’m in waiting. I’m a mother in waiting. And it’s horrifying. It’s hell on earth, and a lot of people are facing it.”
Wynonna Judd Looks Ahead to Fans’ Reactions to “The Hopeful Lie”
The Hard Truth is a vulnerable album, with specific and often painful songs inspired by the singer’s late mother Naomi as well as the biological father she never got to meet.
Still, “The Hopeful Lie” is among the rawest tracks on the album — and Judd knows that many fans will relate to the pain of loving an addict. She says it’s hard but often rewarding when fans approach her to share their own stories.
“It depends on the day. It really does,” she says. “This sounds corny, but I keep saying it: Depends on the state I’m in, and the state I’m in.”
Read More: The Judds’ 10 Best Songs
“I may get a phone call from Grace that day,” Judd continues. “I’ve done it before where I’ve gotten a call from her and then had to step into a meet and greet. I’ve had that happen to me hundreds of times.”
“And yet I feel connected to people,” she adds. “I kinda take it as a message that I’m doing something to help somebody.”
Where is Wynonna Judd’s Daughter, Grace Kelley, Today?
According to jail records and People, she is currently serving a 15-month sentence at the Rockingham County Jail in Harrisonburg, Va. She’s been there since pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended or revoked license in connection with an arrest last October.
Wynonna Judd has full-time custody of Kelley’s 4-year-old daughter, Kaliyah, and court records indicate that Kelley was pregnant with her second child while in custody this summer. A judge denied her request for a temporary release in order to deliver her child via scheduled C-section around Aug. 16.
According to People, Judd didn’t know Kelley was pregnant until the news broke in August. People also reports that she declined to comment on Kelley’s claim that Judd tried to cover up childhood abuse she suffered, saying only that she hopes her daughter will “find healing” and “quit blaming me.”
Those claims stem from an interview Kelley gave The Daily Progress last year, where she said she was sober. She also said that her stepfather, Judd’s ex-husband D.R. Roach, sexually abused her when she was 10 years old. She claimed Judd knew about the abuse before it went public, but wanted to address it in family counseling instead of turning him in to the police.
“When they found out in counseling what he had done to me, they’re like, ‘Wait a minute. We’re going to report this to law enforcement,'” she told The Daily Progress. “When he was arrested and it came out in the news, that’s when she divorced him.”
“So is my mom rich? Yeah, she’s so rich that she was able to sweep me under the rug and abuse me and then cover it all up,” Kelley says at one point in the interview. “I don’t want to talk bad about my mom, but we’ll just say she’s a good performer. She was never a mother.”
Read More: Wynonna Judd’s Daughter Alleges Family Cover-Up of Childhood Abuse
Judd and Roach were married from 2003 to 2007. He was arrested in March 2007 and charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery against a child under the age of 13. Judd filed for divorce days later.
Roach was convicted of the crime and his victim was never publicly identified during trial.
Though she hasn’t commented on those allegations, Judd has publicly expressed support for her daughter despite their difficult relationship.
During an appearance on In Pursuit! With John Rich in 2020, Judd described Grace as “the strongest woman in our ‘herstory.'”
“She’s healthier than I was at 23,” Judd added in that interview. “How she got there — I would not go that way, but I was also sequestered. I was on a bus with my mother. Kind of hard to get in trouble.”
Country Stars Whose Family Feuds Turned Into Lawsuits
Family first is one of the core values in country music, but that doesn’t mean that country stars’ family relationships are all sweetness and light. Several country stars have been involved in family feuds that turned so nasty that they ended up in lawsuits.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
