Ashley Judd reveals that her mother Naomi 'used a gun' to commit suicide

Naomi Judd shot herself with a gun a day before she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, her heartbroken daughter revealed.

The singer committed suicide with a gun at her Tennessee farmhouse on April 30 at age 76 after battling with her mental health, Ashley told Good Morning America (GMA) on Thursday.

Ashley, 54, held back tears as she gave more details about the iconic singer's suicide in her first television interview about the tragedy.

The actress revealed that she was with her mother and left to greet a guest, but when she returned, she found her dead in an upstairs room.

Ashley and her sister Wynonna, 57, who performed with Naomi for years in The Judds, spoke for the first time about her death at the Country Music Hall of Fame ceremony on May 1.

Meanwhile, Naomi's husband, Larry Strickland, 76, kept quiet and issued a brief statement saying he was going through a "heartbreaking time."

"I deeply appreciate it and really want to start by thanking everyone for their outpouring of love and condolences and that my sister and I have deep gratitude,” Ashley told GMA.

“I am here as an individual sitting alone with you, but both my sister and dad have delegated me in a way to speak on behalf of the family at this time, before details about April 30 become public beyond our control.”

“You know, whether it's the autopsy or the exact manner of his death...obviously it's too soon and it's important that we say it from the beginning.”

"When we talk about mental illness, it's very important to be clear and make the distinction between our loved one and the illness. It's very real, and it's real enough. It's wild and, you know, my mother, our mother, couldn't hold out until her peers put her in the Hall of Fame.

“I have the extremely difficult task to reveal the way my mother decided stop living. And I've thought long and hard about this because once I say it, you can't un-say it and so, because we don't want it to be part of the gossip economy, I will share with you that she used a gun.”

"Mom used a firearm, so that's the information we're very uncomfortable sharing, but understand that we're in a position where, if we don't say it, someone else will."

Ashley, who was visiting Naomi's home in Tennessee on the day of her death, also detailed her last moments with her mother.

"It was a mixed day," Ashley told GMA. "I visit my mom and dad every day when I'm home in Tennessee, so I was home visiting like every day, and mom said, 'Will you stay with me?'”

“I said, 'Of course I will.'”

The actress had gone out to greet a family friend and when she went to tell her mother that her guest had arrived, she found her dead.

“I went upstairs to let her know the friend was there and discovered her. I have pain and trauma from discovering her.”

"My mother has a right to her dignity and her privacy, so there are some things we would like to keep as a family."

"I want to be very careful when we talk about this today that for anyone who has those ideas or those urges, you know, talk to someone, share, be open to being vulnerable. There's a national suicide hotline."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text the word "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.