Country music’s fairy godmother, Dolly Parton, has opened up about the emotional rollercoaster she’s been on since the passing of her husband, Carl Dean—and let’s just say, she’s handling it with the grace of a rhinestoned angel and the sass of a Southern queen who’s had one too many sweet teas.
At 79 years young (seriously, does she age or just recharge like a glitter-powered robot?), Dolly got candid on the TODAY show about life after losing her man of 58 years. That’s right—58 YEARS! In Hollywood time, that’s like 300 Kardashian marriages.
“I get real emotional when people bring it up,” she said, probably dabbing a tear with a lace doily she crocheted herself. “We were together for 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old—which is basically forever in country music years. It’s a big adjustment. Like when you switch from heels to flats and suddenly realize your whole center of gravity is gone.”
But fear not, Dolly ain’t sittin’ around eating casseroles and crying into her bedazzled pillows.
“I’ll do fine,” she reassured us like the unshakable diva she is. “I’m throwing myself into work—and honey, there’s nothing like a full schedule and a face full of makeup to keep you from ugly crying in public.”
Still, Dolly made it clear that Carl will always be her man, no matter how many duets she sings with anyone else.
“I’ll always miss him, of course. He was a great partner, even though he mostly stayed outta the spotlight like a vampire with stage fright,” she joked. “But y’all—thank you for the letters, the flowers, the sweet messages from all over the world. I didn’t even know Carl was that famous. He was like a country music Sasquatch—everybody talked about him, but hardly anybody saw him!”
Then Dolly shared a moment that could make even the toughest cowboy cry into his chili.
“I was riding a float through Dollywood, smiling and waving like Miss Butter-Queen USA, when a little boy spotted me and hollered out my name,” she said. “I was holding it together until I got back to my van—and then BOOM. Full-on ugly cry. Mascara, contour, the whole face just slid off. But it was beautiful. That love just hit me like a rhinestone truck.”
Carl Dean passed away this past March at the age of 82, and true to her musical soul, Dolly honored him the only way she knew how: with a brand new heartstring-tugging song, released just a week after his passing.
So while Dolly’s heart might be hurting, you best believe she’s still shining bright, singing louder than ever, and reminding all of us that love—real love—can last longer than a gallon of hairspray in a Tennessee summer.
