Dolly Parton Still ‘Very Emotional’ After Carl Dean’s Death

Dolly Parton spoke about becoming overwhelmed with both joy and grief after appearing at a special parade at Dollywood in the weeks after the death of her husband, Carl Dean. 

Speaking on Today, Parton was shown a viral clip of a young kid looking shocked after spotting Parton on a parade float. Parton said she remembered the kid, joking that she wanted to “get off that cart and run down and just squeeze him.”

She went on to describe how special the Dollywood parades are, especially that one, saying, “Just getting to see the reaction and feeling all that love — I got very emotional that day after the parade because there was just so much love like that and it was right after I had lost Carl.” 

Getting visibly emotional, Parton said, “I was just so bottled up with emotion, and I just got in the van and just boo hoo’d for the longest time, just feeling all that love and emotion.”

Dean died in March at the age of 82. He and Parton spent 61 years together, famously meeting outside of a laundromat the day she arrived in Nashville to pursue a career in music. While Parton became one of the biggest stars in the world, Dean ran an asphalt-paving business and avoided joining his wife in the spotlight entirely. 

On Today, Parton admitted she still gets “very emotional” when people bring up Dean’s death. “We were together 60 years,” she continued. “I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old, and it’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits. I’ll do fine. I’m very involved in my work and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me. But I’ll always miss him, of course, and I’ll always love him.”

Following Dean’s death, Parton released a new song, “If You Hadn’t Been There,” as a tribute to Dean. A few weeks later, she made her first public appearance since his death at a 40th anniversary celebration for Dollywood. Parton said at the event, I just want to say thank you and I love you for all the flowers, cards and well-wishes… He would want me to be working today.”