Naomi Judd’s Husband Reveals What Her Final Months Were Like Before Her Suicide

The world was shocked and devastated back in April when the country music legend Naomi Judd committed suicide at the age of 76. Larry Strickland, who was married to Judd for 33 years before her passing, is now speaking out to reveal what her final months were like.

Judd’s Final Months

Daily Mail reported that Strickland said that Judd was seeing “several therapists” before her death, and that “her energy level had gotten really low.”

“It was a very chaotic, hectic, hectic time,” Strickland, 76, told People Magazine. “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.”

 Judd had been open about having suicidal thoughts in the past.

“Nobody can understand it unless you’ve been there,” she once said. “Think of your very worst day of your whole life – someone passed away, you lost your job, you found out you were being betrayed, that your child had a rare disease – you can take all of those at once and put them together and that’s what depression feels like.”

Related: Naomi Judd’s Husband Breaks His Silence

‘I Might Have Overdone It’

While Strickland knew that Judd was struggling with depression, he didn’t know the extent of her battle.

“I just feel like I might have overdone it,” he admitted. “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 now wishes that he’d handled his wife’s mental health issues in a different way.

“If I had known where she was, I would’ve been much softer on her,” he said. “I would’ve been gentler and more understanding instead of tired and exhausted because it was wearing me out, too. 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.”

“For the past 13 years or more, I was with her 24/7,” Strickland continued. “I never left the house without Naomi knowing where I was going and when I would be back. As far as taking care of myself, I’m not sure that fits my situation. When you have a mate that has a mental illness, you walk that path with them.”

Watch Strickland talk more about this in the video below.

Related: Naomi Judd’s Cause Of Death Revealed By Daughter Ashley

Strickland Leans On Judd’s Daughters

In the wake of Judd’s death, Strickland has been leaning on her daughters Wynonna and Ashley for support. 

“We need each other so much to cling to, and the comfort of our relationship — we have to have that,” he said. “I was used to staying in the background. But after going through what our family’s gone through — the tragedy, the trauma — it changes you.”

Strickland is now trying to help others, especially men, be more open about mental health issues.

“When you lose someone to suicide, you don’t get a chance to say bye. [After losing Naomi], it was pain like I’ve never felt before,” he concluded. “I was consumed by what happened, and I want to do anything I can to help relieve any kind of hurting or suffering for others. I’m willing to do whatever I can to hopefully help anyone not go through what our family has.”

Judd was a true icon, and there will never be another one like her. Please join us in saying a prayer for her family as they continue to mourn her devastating loss.