Wynonna Judd and Cactus Moser’s Relationship Timeline: Inside The Country Legend’s 11-Year Marriage

The 1st Meeting

Wynonna met Cactus, who is a drummer for Highway 101, in the late 1980s when his band was touring with The Judds. Although Cactus was interested in the country superstar, she was much more hesitant.

“I was smitten then, [but] when you’re touring with your mother, it’s kind of hard to date,” Wynonna admitted to Us Weekly in 2012.

They parted ways when the tour ended a year later but remained in contact over the years.

The Reconciliation

Wynonna and Cactus finally got together in 2009. By that time, she had two children, Pauline and Elijah, and he had three kids – Cahl Wyatt and Sunshine – from a previous relationship.

Cactus had been living in Los Angeles but he reconnected with Wynonna when he moved to Tennessee.

“When I moved here, I kept my horses at her place while I built fences,” Cactus recalled in 2015. “There was a long gap, but in 2009, I’m playing at Puckett’s for these fun classic rock gigs and Wy comes walking in with Naomi. So we got together and went on a couple of dates.”

The Proposal

Wynonna and Cactus got engaged on Christmas Eve 2011.

The Wedding

The couple tied the knot on June 10, 2012, at Wynonna’s farm in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. The intimate ceremony was attended by the pair’s five children.

“Marrying Cactus was one of the greatest days of my life because I’ve never trusted someone and loved someone so simultaneously like I love Cactus,” Wynonna gushed in her 2023 documentary, Wynonna Judd: Between Hell & Hallelujah.

The Accident

Just two months after the couple’s wedding, Cactus was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in South Dakota. He had to have his left leg amputated above the knee.

“I lived through the night, which was a miraculous story,” Cactus shared. “Two months into getting married, she had to become a nurse. There’s a lot she had to do. It’s horrid. That’s kind of our thing – even in the worst of times, we can figure out how to get past it and find a happy place.”

The Blended Family

Although Wynonna and Cactus never had any kids together, they’ve blended their families since tying the knot.

“This family is everything to me,” Wynonna admitted in her doc. “I have three bonus children, as well as two of my own. Cactus and I have blended our family together and it’s awesome. The family I come home to is everything to me. It keeps me going and fills me up with joy and gives me purpose.”

The Grieving

Cactus was a strong support system for Wynonna when Naomi died by suicide in 2022. Her death came just weeks after The Judds announced that they would be hitting the road for a comeback tour.

Wynonna decided to continue with the tour and credited Cactus with pushing her to go on the road while grieving her mom.

“My husband said to me, ‘You deserve to celebrate this legacy,’” Wynonna revealed. “And that’s the moment I was like, ‘This could work.’”

She added, “Cactus has been there every step of the way on this tour and I could not have done this without him. Cactus has been there for me in ways I didn’t even know I needed. He’s not only helped me conquer my fears on this tour, he’s been there to help me heal on this tour. We love each other deeply and show up for each other. I can’t do it without him.”