Dolly Parton has opened up about her husband Carl Dean’s passing and how it has affected her work.
The country icon, 79, announced on Instagram that her husband of nearly 60 years died on Monday, March 3, in Nashville.
Since his death, Dolly has spoken about him on several occasions, and in an interview with Khloe Kardashian, she opened up about music she has put on pause since he died.
‘There’s a few things now, – my husband passed away three months ago, so when you ask me if there’s stuff that I started and haven’t finished – several things I have wanted to start, but I can’t do it.’
She explained that she was coming up with incredible ideas, but couldn’t afford to get ‘that emotional’ right now, just months on from his death.
‘I will later, but I’m just coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas, but I think I won’t finish it.
‘I can’t do it right now, because I’ve got so many other things and I can’t afford the luxury of, you know, getting that emotional right now.’
She reflected that things like grief can ‘stall’ her, but she always finds a way to get back to making music.
‘There are times like that, things like that, that will stall you a little bit. But I’ll write something else, though, if it comes.
‘I’m just putting that all on hold.’
She added earnestly that she loved her job and had a lot of joy from writing her songs and having ‘great ideas’ that she just has to make.
Parton and Dean met 61 years ago in 1964 outside the Wishy Washy launderette in Nashville, on the very day that the music icon moved to Tennessee. They became inseparable and travelled to Georgia two years later, to become husband and wife.
‘I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),’ she wrote on her website in a loving post to mark their 50th anniversary nine years ago in 2016.
‘He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.’
The couple never had any children during their relationship, which spanned over six decades.
Announcing his death in March, Dolly told devoted fans: ‘Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82.
‘He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.
‘Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.
‘Thank you for your prayers and sympathy. The family asks for privacy during this difficult time.’
Weeks after her husband’s death, the star paid tribute to him during a surprise concert.
The concert took place at the preview for Dollywood season passholders ahead of opening for its 40th season in Tennessee.
The 9 to 5 hitmaker told the crowd: ‘Of course I will always love him, and I’ll miss him, but I wanted you to know, that I will always love you.’
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