Dolly Parton reveals she’s ‘doing better’ while navigating the loss of her husband
Following the devastating loss of her husband Carl Dean, country music superstar Dolly Parton has shown a surprising sense of strength and peace.
Though the pain of losing her partner of over six decades is no doubt immense, Parton said she is “doing better” than she expected, finding comfort in the love they shared and the memories they created together.
Parton recently shared the devastating news of her husband’s passing at the age of 82.
“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,” Parton said in a statement on Monday, March 3.
As she continues to navigate her grief, Parton has found solace in the fact that her beloved husband is “at peace” while focusing on “the good stuff” from their time together.
“I’m doing better than I thought I would,” Parton told Knox News.
“I’ve been with him 60 years. So, I’m going to have to relearn some of the things that we’ve done. But I’ll keep him always close.”
Parton went on to reveal that she is “at peace that he’s at peace” after revealing that he “suffered a great deal” but that still doesn’t stop her “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,” she said.
Parton met her husband back in 1964 in a laundromat in Nashville when Parton had first moved into town, she was 18 and he was 21.
“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” Parton said of their first meeting.
“He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
It was love at first sight for the pair who dated for two years before tying the knot.
During a previous appearance on the Dumb Blonde podcast, Parton revealed the key to their long-lasting marriage.
“He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny. Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other and we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun,” she said.
“Anytime there’s too much tension going on, either one of us can like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far.
“We never fought back and forth. And I’m glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing.
“I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that.’ I couldn’t bear to think that he’d say something I couldn’t take … because I’m a very sensitive person toward other people and myself.”
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