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As you’ve likely heard by now, country music icon and humanitarian Dolly Parton passed away this week following a brief battle with cancer.
Parton lived one of the most iconic lives in recent American history, but her final months were marred by loss and grief.
The singer’s longtime husband, Carl Dean, passed away in March of 2025, and according to one new report, the loss devastated Dolly for the rest of her days.
“Carl’s death knocked the wind right out of her. She’s trying to rally herself, but most days she looks lost,” one source told Radar Online at the time.
“Carl was her rock. She depended on him more than people realized.”
“Knowing Carl for decades and being the most important person in her life, now that he is gone, as much as she can take comfort in other family members and fans having her back, it is never the same,” the insider added.
Another source says that in her final months, Dolly “was not eating right, not doing the things she usually would do for her continued health, and she let things slip.”
“When Carl died, that was the first time brakes were applied and reality set in and she didn’t know how to handle it,” the insider continued.
In the days following Carl’s death, Dolly took every opportunity to pay tribute to her loving husband, who famously maintained a low profile throughout her career.
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together,” she posted on Instagram after his passing.
“Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story.”
“Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up,” Parton told Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, in June of last year, as she struggled to fight back tears.
“Right after I had lost Carl, I was just so bottled up with emotion, and I got in the van and just boo-hooed for the longest time, just feeling all that love and emotion,” she continued, adding:
“It’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits. I’ll do fine, and I’m very involved in my work, and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me. But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me.”
Dolly’s brother, Coy “Denver” Parton also passed away in the months before her death.
As epic as her life may have been, Dolly was human and not immune from the sort of pain that impacts every life at one time or another.
Of course, her vulnerability was one of the things that made her relatable to so many millions of fans.
Dolly Parton Spent Final Months ‘Drowning In Grief’ Over Loss of Husband Carl … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.