‘I can’t write music’ — Dolly Parton admits she’s struggling with grief after husband’s death 

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Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum Opens New Exhibit Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker - Source: Getty
Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum Opens New Exhibit Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker - Source: Getty

Country music icon Dolly Parton lost her husband of fifty-eight-plus years on March 3, 2025, in Nashville, and she recently admitted to struggling to come to terms with the loss. The 79-year-old country musician revealed when she appeared on the July 10 episode of Khloe Kardashian’s Khloe in Wonder Land podcast that she could hardly create new music because of her current mental state.

Replying to Kardashian’s question about any unfinished projects due to writer’s block, Dolly Parton stated:

"My husband passed away three months ago.” She continued, “When you asked me if there’s stuff that I’ve started, haven’t finished, several things I’ve wanted to start but I can’t do it…I will later, but I’m just coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas, but I think I won’t finish it."

The "Islands in the Stream" hitmaker explained that she was weighed down by pressing tasks that she couldn’t attend to, but added that she still derived joy from songwriting.


"I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday,” says Dolly Parton as she mourns her late husband

On March 3, 2025, Dolly Parton announced on Instagram that Carl Thomas Dean, her longtime partner, had passed away:

"Carl and I spent many wonderful years together," Parton wrote on Instagram. "Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy."

Dolly Parton, 79, sounded positive in an interview with Associated Press in May 2025. The Jolene singer told the media that she hoped to reunite with her late husband. She added that Carl Thomas Dean’s memory was kept alive in all the things they used to do while he was still alive:

“I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday. And I see him every day in my memories, in my heart, and in all the things we used to do and all the things we’ve built together. You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans, but that’s the hardest part.”

Dolly Parton met Dean at a Laundromat at eighteen years of age and married him two years later. The singer revealed that she was struck by his interest in her. In 2016, the couple renewed their vows after 50 years of being together. In December 2024, the country music icon revealed on the Dumb Blonde podcast that humour and jokes helped sustain her long marriage.


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Edited by Ranjana Sarkar