Dolly Parton is opening up about the year following her husband Carl Dean’s death and how she’s found a way to cope with her loss.
“A lot of you have been concerned about me and Carl and you were so great about that,” the country singer, 80, said in a Monday, May 4, Instagram video. “But after going through a year of firsts — I mean the holidays and especially our wedding anniversary and the day of his death, March 3, that was hard for me. But I will always love him and I’ll always miss him.”
Parton added that the support she has received from her loved ones and fans have helped her navigate such a difficult time.
“You would be surprised at how much your love and concern meant to me during that time. Lord, my house and my porch looked like the botanical gardens with all the flowers,” she quipped. “And my den looked like the post office with all the cards and letters. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. You have been a big part of my healing.”
Last year, Parton announced that Dean died at age 82. (Parton and Dean tied the knot in May 1966, two years after the couple first met at a laundromat in Nashville.)
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she wrote via Instagram in March 2025. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
In addition to mourning the love of her life, Parton has been battling a series of health issues that ultimately led to the country music star canceling her previously rescheduled shows in Las Vegas.
“My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple three years,” she said in the Monday video. “They’re working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those and hopefully I’ll be up to snuff again soon.”
Parton also recalled a conversation she once had with Dean about getting older.
“Speaking of Carl and my health, I remember back years ago … I was griping about something hurting or this and that and Carl said, ‘Now honey, you got to remember you’re not getting any younger. I said, ‘Well honey, you got to remember that as long as there are plastic surgeons in this world, I’m not getting any older,’” she recalled.
Parton acknowledged that while a plastic surgeon can’t treat all her ailments, she has “great doctors” and is doing “really well.” However, she needs a little more time to recover before she takes the stage again.
“It’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage performance level,” she explained. “Because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say. And of course, I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five-inch heels.”
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