Wynonna Judd‘s daughter, Grace Pauline Kelley, has gotten sober.
She shared her story in a new interview with Charlottesville, Va. newspaper The Daily Progress, explaining that she was spurred to make a change after her October 2024 arrest for stealing a church van.
In fact, that same church — Charlottesville’s Ground Zero Church of the Nazarene — has been instrumental in her sobriety.
Kelley says she was baptized there and continues to be an active church member.
In her interview, the singer’s daughter explains that Pastor Kent Hart reached out to her after her release from jail, despite the fact that part of her plea deal required her to stay away from the church.
Read More: Wynonna Judd’s Daughter Arrested, Accused of Stealing Church Van
Pastor Hart was the same person who confronted her as she stole the van, beating on the door and yelling, “You stole my van, get out of my van,” from the side of the road.
“If it wasn’t for Pastor Kent and [his wife] Megan Hart, I would still be out there using,” Kelley says in the article. “I’d still be out there doing the same thing I was.”
A Long History of Legal and Drug Troubles
When Kelley was arrested for stealing a church van in October 2024, it marked her third arrest that year.
She tested positive for heroin after that arrest and faced seven charges, including three counts of grand larceny.
Kelley’s legal troubles date back to 2015, when she was arrested in Nashville and charged with manufacturing meth.
In 2018, she was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating parole. In the years that followed, she was in and out of jail on parole and protection order violations. She was granted parole once again in 2023.
In April 2024, she was arrested and charged with indecent exposure, obstructing government operations and soliciting prostitution. That August, she was once again arrested — this time in Georgia on three misdemeanor charges.
Kelley Recounts Her Story of the Van Theft
Speaking to The Daily Progress, Kelley said she had “got a hold of some bad drugs” and was “hallucinating” before she stole the van.
She had fallen asleep in the church’s trailer and been driven to the residence, she continues, saying that when she woke up, she felt like she needed to get away with the vehicle.
“It was like Texas Chainsaw Massacre in my mind,” Kelley explains.
A Painful Revelation of Childhood Abuse
Elsewhere in her interview, Kelley claimed that her stepfather, Judd’s former husband D.R. Roach, sexually abused her when she was 10 years old.
She also said that Judd helped cover it up.
“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 claims in the interview.
“I don’t want to talk bad about my mom, but we’ll just say she’s a good performer,” she adds. “She was never a mother.”
Read More: Wynonna Judd’s Daughter Says Her Stepdad Abused Her, Judd Helped Cover It Up
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 the trial.
Now, Kelley says that Judd first tried to address the situation through counseling before Roach was arrested.
“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 says. “When he was arrested and it came out in the news, that’s when she divorced him.”
Looking to the Future
Now that she’s found sobriety, Kelley says she hopes to write a memoir sharing her story.
“I never had a voice, and I was iffy about talking about all this stuff,” she says. “But no matter what is said about me, the Bible says the truth will set you free.”
Judd is currently raising Kelley’s 3-year-old daughter, Kaliyah.
Read More: Wynonna Judd’s Granddaughter Had the Most Adorable Birthday Fiesta
She doesn’t share the young girl’s face on social media and is pretty private about their home life together. However, she has shared some details in interviews, and gave fans a peek into Kaliyah’s fiesta-themed third birthday party.
Celebrity Mug Shots, the Best and the Worst
Even celebrities can find themselves in hot water with the law, and when that happens, the mug shots can be quite eye opening. Here are some of the best, and the worst.
Gallery Credit: Wood
