Dolly Parton is talking about the highlight of her life.
The singer, 79, got candid on losing her husband of 59 years, Carl Dean, in March.
“Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up,” Parton told “Today” host Savannah Guthrie in an interview on Friday. “But we were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old.”
During the virtual chat, where Parton called in from Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn, the artist revealed that “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,” Parton explained. “But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me.”
Dean died at age 82 on March 3. Parton is grateful for those who have rallied around her during the difficult time.
“I’m so thankful. I’ve gotten so many cards, letters, flowers, from all over the world,” she stated before teasing, “I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous.”
Parton also reflected on her first public appearance after Dean’s death at Dollywood’s Celebrity Theater. The country star met fans and appeared in a parade to help kick off the resort’s 40th operating season.
“I got very emotional that day after the parade because there was just so much love like that,” she said during the interview. “Right after I had lost Carl and 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.”
Parton also addressed Dean’s passing during the opening, sharing, per local news: “Of course I will always love him, and I’ll miss him, but I wanted you to know that I will always love you.”
The couple were married for 59 years before he passed away in Nashville.
Parton confirmed her partner’s death on Instagram shortly after news broke.
“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,” her message read.
In a follow-up post, the Grammy winner thanked fans Instagram for their support.
“This is a love note to family, friends, and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl,” Parton wrote at the time. “I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me. He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”
Parton released a heartfelt song titled “If You Hadn’t Been There” in honor of her longtime love.
The “Steel Magnolias” actress posted a snap of the album cover art, which was a throwback photo of herself and Dean.
In the photo, a young Parton wraps her arms around her husband’s neck as she stands behind him.
“Carl and I fell in love when I was 18 and he was 23, and like all great love stories, they never end,” she captioned the post. “They live in memory and in song, and I dedicate this to him.”
The pair first met at a Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville when Parton was just 18 years old. They tied the knot on May 30, 1966.
Although Parton and Dean never had kids, they had a marriage that worked well — with the Hollywood icon being in the spotlight and Dean staying private.
“He likes his freedom. If I call him, that’s fine, he ain’t expectin’ it. He doesn’t like me home for long because it interferes with his tradin’. So we never really have any hold on each other. And yet we have the ultimate hold,” Parton said about their marriage in 1982.
That same year, she told People, “Carl is the one man in my life. I would love to grow old with him. If he should die first, I may never marry again. My love is that deep.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
