Dolly Parton reflected on life without her late husband Carl Dean after their 60-year romance.
During a Friday appearance on “Today,” the 79-year-old country music icon opened up about how she is coping with the loss of Dean, who died in March at the age of 82.
“Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up,” Parton shared as she teared up. “But we were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old.”
“It’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits,” she continued. “I’ll do fine, and I’m very involved in my work and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me.”
DOLLY PARTON’S HUSBAND, CARL DEAN, DEAD AT 82
“But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me,” she added.
The 10-time Grammy winner went on to express her gratitude for the love and support that she had received in the wake of Dean’s death.
“I’m so thankful. I’ve gotten so many cards, letters, flowers, from all over the world,” Parton said.
“I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous,” she joked of her spouse.
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Despite being married to the internationally famous singer-songwriter for almost six decades, Dean was a very private man who steered clear of the spotlight, though he played a strong supporting role in Parton’s life.
In a 1977 interview with Country Music magazine, Parton explained that it was “good” that Dean was a “mystery person to the public.”
“My career being separate from my marriage is perfectly natural for us,” she said. “We like it that way. It’s too right and too natural and too comfortable and too secure for it to ever be anything else.”
Parton first met Dean at a laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964 when she was 18 and he was 21, and the couple tied the knot two years later.
During his lifetime, Dean rarely gave interviews. However, in 2016, he spoke lovingly of Parton while the couple were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
“My first thought was, ‘I’m going to marry that girl,'” Dean told Entertainment Tonight about meeting Parton for the first time. “My second thought was, ‘Lord, she’s good-looking.’ And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this Earth.”
While appearing on “Today,” Parton recalled an interaction between herself and a young fan during this year’s opening-day parade at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on March 14.
In a viral clip, a little boy was seen appearing shocked and overjoyed when he spotted Parton, who smiled and pointed at him as she rode by in a carriage.
“I remember him in the parade. I was thinking, ‘Honey, are you gonna have a heart attack right here in front of everybody?’” Parton said. “It was the sweetest thing. I just wanted to get off of that cart and run down and just squeeze him. It was just great.”
The moment took place while Parton was making her first public appearance following Dean’s death. The “Jolene” singer surprised fans when she attended the opening-day celebrations in honor of Dollywood’s 40th anniversary.
During her appearance on the show, Parton admitted that taking part in the parade amid her grief over Dean’s death had been challenging.
“I got very emotional that day after the parade because there was just so much love like that,” she said. “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.”
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Parton announced Dean’s death in a heartfelt statement that she shared on Instagram on March 3.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the “9 to 5” singer wrote. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
On March 7, Parton took to Instagram to reveal a new song that she had dedicated to Dean, titled “If You Hadn’t Been There.”
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” she wrote along with a throwback photo of herself with her spouse.
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“We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together,” Parton continued in her caption. “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, and I dedicate this song to him.”
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Two weeks after Dean’s death, Parton opened up about how she was carrying on after his passing.
“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.”
“I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him,” the entertainer said, adding that her husband had “suffered a great deal.”
“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.
