Wynonna Riffs on Dud Marriage

For first time since filing for divorce, Judd speaks out on estranged hubby's child-assault charges

By Gina Serpe Aug 08, 2007 7:00 PMTags

Wynonna Judd has gone from standing by her man to standing on her own—and being fine with it.

The country singer has spoken out about the demise of her marriage to bodyguard turned road manager D.R. Roach for the first time since her estranged husband was charged with aggravated sexual assault and battery against a minor under 13 years of age last March.

"Everything's not all right, but I'm all right with everything," the 43-year-old told Ladies' Home Journal in its September issue. "Let's just say if the fans are worried about me, don't be. In this moment, this heartbeat, this breath, I'm okay."

Judd told the magazine that while she was devastated by the allegations and her split from Roach, she was not wholly blindsided by them.

"Because of the seriousness of the accusations, the media immediately jump to conclusions, whether we know the facts or not...I knew what I was into and I tried to change it."

"I know that both D.R. and I had issues with addiction when I married him...I know the people I chose, I know why I chose them, and I really thought that I could change people through loving them enough. It doesn't work that way."

Less than a week after Roach was indicted in Tennessee on three charges of assault and battery, Judd filed for divorce from her husband of just over three years, citing irreconcilable differences. According to court documents, the duo had separated the month prior. On Feb. 21, Roach checked himself into the Shades of Hope treatment center in Texas for drug and alcohol addiction.

And while Judd says she was familiar with Roach's troubled past, her reaction to his indictment on the charges was nevertheless one of "disbelief and shock."

"These are things that you read about and see on the news about people, and you think to yourself, Never in my family!...My first response when it happened was, I am a mother first and foremost."

Judd and Roach tied the knot in 2003, after meeting eight years earlier when he served as her security detail. They had no children together, though Roach has one son and Judd a son and a daughter from their previous marriages.

It's her family, including mom Naomi and sister Ashley, that Wynonna says she is now relying on.

"The only thing I can say at this time is I am choosing to reach out and get the help my family and I need, and I'm setting and maintaining healthy boundaries."

One of those boundaries, however, may not include maintaining permanent distance from Roach. Judd, who still wears her wedding ring as part of her "healing process," told the magazine she hasn't completely written off a reconciliation with her estranged hubby.

"For me, after a 15-year relationship, it is hard to just detach overnight. I'm healing in my own time. And so I do wear my ring.

"I think there's a bigger picture than just what I can see right now," she said. "We still communicate through our lawyers and mediator. There are still personal and professional details to make decisions about...And there's always hope. My heart does not give up easy in terms of having hope."