Naomi Judd's cause of death left unanswered questions to her fans.
This week, fans of the legendary country duo The Judds were left shocked and heartbroken over the passing of Naomi. She was 76.
While her age might have contributed to her passing, it was revealed by her sister, Ashley Judd, on Instagram that the singer lost her battle against mental health illness.
Ashley and Wynnona Judd also shared a statement with the Associated Press.
"Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness," Naomi's sisters said. "We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public," the statement continued. "We are in unknown territory."
Meanwhile, journalist Micah Kennedy shared an article on News Channel 5, saying that Naomi passed away after taking her own life. Still, it should be taken with a grain of salt since the family has not confirmed anything.
Although they did not reveal exactly what was Naomi Judd's cause of death, multiple news outlets recalled the singer's battle against mental and other health issues in the past years.
Naomi Judd Struggled Due to Multiple Health Issues
With her extreme experience with the dreaded mental health issue, fans were left with unanswered questions about how exactly she died.
The country singer opened up about her mental health for the first time in her 2016 book, "River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope." She revealed that she experienced the worst after her tour since she was suppressing her memories related to child molestation.
She also penned a 2017 essay for NBC News, saying that she was immobilized as she suffered from depression since her muscles atrophied due to lack of movement. With that, she had an elevator installed in her home.
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Judd then revealed to Good Morning America that she was diagnosed with treatment-resistant severe depression. Despite the tragic event in her life, she showed her positivity as she thought someone could believe they could survive if she lived through it.
Aside from that, she reportedly struggled with physical health problems over the years, including hepatitis. The Judds member was diagnosed with hepatitis after starting to experience headaches, nausea, and muscle aches while on tour in 1989. She reportedly believed she got it while working as a nurse.
"The star was subsequently diagnosed with non-A, non-B hepatitis, which is how doctors classified hep C before a comprehensive screening test for the virus came out in 1992. After getting liver enzyme tests, Judd was told that she had as few as three years left to live," Hep Mag revealed.
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