Who is D.R. Roach? All about Wynonna Judd’s ex-husband accused of molesting daughter Grace Kelley

Last month, Wynonna Judd’s daughter, Grace Kelley, claimed that her ex-stepfather, D.R. Roach, molested her when she was 10. Kelley’s allegations came during her interview with The Daily Progress, published on July 29, 2025.

D.R. Roach was a longtime bodyguard of Wynonna Judd, and the duo walked down the aisle in 2003. They remained together until Roach was arrested and charged with three felony counts of aggravated s*xual assault and battery against a minor under the age of 13. Subsequently, Judd filed for divorce.

Grace Kelley recently claimed that her mother was complicit in D.R. Roach’s crime and tried to cover up and keep the family together via counseling.

“Then, 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.’ When he was arrested and it came out in the news, that’s when she divorced him,” Kelley stated.

She continued,

“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. I don’t want to talk bad about my mom, but we’ll just say she’s a good performer. She was never a mother.”

Wynonna Judd hasn’t responded to her daughter’s latest accusations yet. She is, however, raising Kelley’s three-year-old daughter, Kaliyah Chanel.

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More about D.R. Roach amid Grace Kelley’s accusation against him and Wynonna Judd

According to the East Valley Tribune, Wynonna Judd married her personal security guard and road manager, Daniel R. Roach, on November 22, 2003, in the rural community of Leiper’s Fork in Williamson County, Tennessee, 30 miles south of Nashville. He was her employee for over 13 years and was described as a “very spiritual man,” as per Reuters.

At the time, her publicist, Ashley Eicher, confirmed the wedding. It was an intimate ceremony with 60 guests comprising close friends and family. Wynonna Judd’s mother and veteran country music star Naomi Judd, and her sister and Hollywood actress Ashley Judd, attended the nuptials.

On March 22, 2007, D.R. Roach, then aged 49, was arrested at the Shades of Hope rehab facility in Abeline, Texas, and charged with three counts of aggravated s*xual assault and battery against a minor. At the time, the identity of the victim was undisclosed.

After being indicted by a grand jury, he pleaded guilty to attempting to commit aggravated s*xual battery, according to the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry, which still lists him as an active s*x offender against children. D.R. Roach is the father of a son named Zac.

Five days later, Wynonna Judd filed for divorce in Franklin, Tennessee, citing they were,

"unable to live together successfully as husband and wife."

At the time, her website published a statement that read,

“Our family will pull together, begin the healing process, and hopefully - by the Grace of God - become stronger. We will move forward with our faith, family, and our friends to find a resolution to this difficult situation.” It also mentioned the situation was “obviously devastating.”

In August 2023, she said the divorce “blew the door open to my soul” during an interview with Ladies’ Home Journal. Per People, she mentioned in the interview how she experienced “disbelief and shock” upon discovering Dan Roach’s true character.

“My first response when it happened was, I am a mother first and foremost… I’m now focused on saving myself and the children,” Judd revealed.

She continued,

“I knew what I was getting into, and I tried to change it. I knew that both Roach and I had issues with addiction when I married him. I know my life. 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.”

Wynonna Judd shared she was pursuing healthier relationships and gave a shout-out to her mother and sister for support. She added “healing in my own time” and teaching her children that “there’s always hope.”

According to a CNN report in 2010, the Grammy winner opened up to Oprah Winfrey and said she went into “mama bear mode” as soon as she learnt of D.R. Roach’s arrest. She recalled how she kicked him out and “called him everything I could think of.”

"I trusted him with my life, and I didn't want to stop trusting [people]. It's a little tough because once burned, forever fears the fire. I didn't want to Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," the country musician added.

Sharing that the story was too “deep and wide,” she refused to provide details because of the child victim.

“I won’t speak about it. It’s their story [to tell] when they’re ready to talk,” she noted.

While Judd admitted to knowing the kid, she didn’t reveal the identity. However, she mentioned that it wasn’t her business and she had to “separate from it,” to save herself from further turmoil. Wynonna Judd noted that she knew about D.R. Roach’s drug and alcohol addiction but was glad he was “sober,” adding she had forgiven but not forgotten what he’d done.

“The best revenge is living well,” the artist added.

It still remains unclear whether D.R. Roach was arrested for allegedly molesting Grace Kelley.

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Wynonna Judd was married three times overall. Before D.R. Roach, she was married to businessman Arch Kelley III between 1996 and 1998. They share son Elijah, 30, and daughter Grace, 29.

Later, Wynonna dated country band Highway 101 drummer Scott “Cactus” Moser for a few years before getting engaged in December 2011. The following year, in June, the couple tied the knot at her home in Leiper’s Fork.