Dolly Parton has made the heartbreaking decision to put her music career on hold following the death of her beloved husband Carl Dean, who passed away in March after nearly 60 years of marriage.
The 79-year-old country music icon revealed her struggles with grief during an appearance on the “Khloe in Wonderland” podcast Wednesday, explaining that she cannot bring herself to complete songs about her late husband.
“Now that my husband passed away, there are several things that I want to start but I can’t do it,” Parton explained. “I will later, because I’m coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas, but ’cause I got so many other things that I can’t afford the luxury of, you know, of getting emotional right now,” Parton said.
“I’ll write something else, though, if it comes. I’m just putting that all on hold. That to me is my joy and happiness,” she said.
Dean died in March at age 82 after a long illness. The notoriously private man had been married to Parton for 61 years, staying largely out of the public eye throughout her legendary career.
During the podcast interview, Parton reflected on how their relationship began and why Dean chose to remain private. She recalled winning a BMI Award in 1966, the same year they married, and convincing Dean to attend the ceremony with her.
“He rented a tuxedo, didn’t want to do it, I begged him to go,” Parton said. However, as they were returning to the house, Dean quickly removed his tie and jacket.
“He said, ‘Now I want you to do great, but don’t you ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going,'” she recalled. “And he never did. I knew right then that I’m just going to keep him private as best I can [and] never ask him to do nothing. And certainly he’s not going to volunteer.”
Despite Dean’s aversion to the spotlight, Parton said he was “very proud” of her success and that their different personalities made them a “perfect” match.
“We were so good for each other because he’s a total loner. But we could just be in the house all day and say two or three words, didn’t matter. Or we could talk all afternoon,” Parton told Kardashian. “We were different people, he was not involved in the music business at all. … But he was a loner. He did not want a bunch of people around him except me.”
Parton said she “really believes that there are certain personalities that are great together,” adding that she and Dean were “great together” for their six decades of marriage.
“We were just different, but we were so similar. Like we were perfect. … Just so many things we were compatible at,” she said. “We just got along great.”
“We got along great because we didn’t have nothing to fight over like that,” she shared.