Dolly Parton gave fans an update on how she’s coping following the death of her beloved husband Carl Thomas Dean, at age 82, from undisclosed causes on March 3 after 58 years of marriage.
‘I’m doing better than I thought I would. I’ve been with him 60 years,’ the 79-year-old national treasure told Knox News on Monday.
Dolly also shared insight into her reclusive husband’s private life, revealing that he struggled in the lead up to his passing.
‘He suffered a great deal,’ Parton admitted.
‘I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him,’ she continued. ‘It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me.’
Last Friday, the legendary country crooner made her first public appearance since the retired asphalt road-paver’s passing during the 40th season celebration of Dollywood, the theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN she bought with Herschend Family Entertainment back in 1986.
Dolly Parton gave fans an update on how she’s coping following the death of her beloved husband Carl Thomas Dean, at age 82, on March 3 after 58 years of marriage
The 79-year-old national treasure told Knox News on Monday: ‘I’m doing better than I thought I would. I’ve been with him 60 years’ (pictured last Friday)
‘I need to laugh. I need some fun, so I’m probably gonna be stupid,’ Dolly explained. ‘I’ve been crying enough the last week or two.’
Parton revealed Carl used to frequently visit Dollywood without her, indulging in funnel cake and avoiding the roller coasters, while enjoying the sights and attractions.
‘He stood in line and got his ticket. He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket because he was Dolly’s husband,’ she recalled.
‘He would say, “You need more bathrooms.” Or he would say, “You need to tell them this or that. It’s crowded over in that area. You might want to tell them they ought to do this or that.”‘
Parton continued: ‘He wasn’t coming to criticize, but he would notice things and he would say, you might want to bring this to their attention.’
The 11-time Grammy winner teased she might want to ‘do like Carl’ and get incognito for her own secret visit to Dollywood: ‘I would just walk around, look at everything.’
Dolly was only 18 when she famously met Dean in 1964 at a laundromat the day after moving to Nashville from Sevierville to start her career.
The reclusive couple renewed their wedding vows in 2016 for their 50th wedding anniversary.
‘We still have our little times, like in the springtime when the first yellow daffodils come out. Even if there’s still some snow around it, my husband always brings me a bouquet. And he’ll usually write me a little poem. Which to me, that’s priceless. That’s like a date in itself,’ Parton told People back in 2020.
She continued: ‘He suffered a great deal. I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him. It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me’
Last Friday, Dolly made her first public appearance since the retired asphalt road-paver’s passing during the 40th season celebration of Dollywood, the theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN she bought with Herschend Family Entertainment back in 1986
‘I need to laugh. I need some fun, so I’m probably gonna be stupid,’ Parton explained. ‘I’ve been crying enough the last week or two’
The legendary country crooner revealed Carl used to frequently visit Dollywood without her, indulging in funnel cake and avoiding the roller coasters, while enjoying the sights and attractions (2023 stock shot)
Dolly recalled: ‘He stood in line and got his ticket. He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket because he was Dolly’s husband…He would say, “You need more bathrooms.” Or he would say, “You need to tell them this or that. It’s crowded over in that area. You might want to tell them they ought to do this or that”‘
Parton was only 18 when she famously met Dean in 1964 at a laundromat the day after moving to Nashville from Sevierville to start her career
The reclusive couple renewed their wedding vows in 2016 for their 50th wedding anniversary
In 2021, Dolly honored Carl’s 79th birthday by recreating her 1978 Playboy cover for him
Three days after his death, the 11-time Grammy winner released a touching song dedicated to Dean called If You Hadn’t Been There
Dolly’s Broadway-bound musical about her life Dolly: An Original Musical begins previews on July 18 for a limited August 8-17 run at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville
‘I’ll cook the stuff that I know we love. And I pack it up in a picnic basket. And then we’ll go find some riverbank somewhere with our little camper, park, have a picnic. Or we’ll pull up to some little Days Inn motel, go in as long as the bed’s clean and there’s a bathroom. We just do our little things like that.
‘Or I’ll do a candlelight dinner. We don’t make an issue of it. It’s like certain days, you feel a certain way. And I’ll say, “I’m going to surprise him. And we’re going to have real cloth napkins and real crystal. I’m going to put the real china out” instead of the paper plates we usually eat on because we don’t want to have to wash dishes.’
In 2021, the Please Please Please singer honored Carl’s 79th birthday by recreating her 1978 Playboy cover for him.
Three days after his death, Dolly released a touching song dedicated to Dean called If You Hadn’t Been There.
Parton’s Broadway-bound musical about her life Dolly: An Original Musical begins previews on July 18 for a limited August 8-17 run at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville.
The godmother of Miley Cyrus is not only producing the show, helmed by Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher, she co-wrote the book with two-time Emmy-winning producer Maria S. Schlatter and penned ‘many original songs’ and ‘included all your favorites’ too.
Dolly previously earned a Tony Award nomination for composing the music to the Broadway musical 9 to 5 which ran in 2009 at Manhattan’s Marquis Theatre.
Parton’s 1984 song With Bells On was also featured in the Broadway musical Candles, Snow & Mistletoe, which ran in 1993 at the Palace Theatre.
The Billy The Kid Comes Home for Christmas co-author – who averages 17.8M monthly listeners on Spotify – has sold over 100M records and broken 10 Guinness World Records.
Dolly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
