Dolly Parton Was 'Bottled Up With Emotion' Following Husband Carl Dean's Death — As Singer Dies 17 Months Later

Dolly Parton never recovered from the devastating death of her beloved husband, Carl Dean, before her own passing on Tuesday, August 25, at age 80, RadarOnline.com can report.

The country icon's life changed dramatically after Dean's passing in March 2025, as she struggled to resume her music career.

Parton publicly shared her love for Dean multiple times after his death on March 3, 2025, at age 82.

"I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together," Parton posted on Instagram after his passing. "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."

Parton also dedicated her song If You Hadn’t Been There to Dean. Two months later, the Jolene singer was able to open up about the struggles of losing her beloved husband during an appearance on Today from Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

"Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up," Parton told Today's Savannah Guthrie, struggling to smile as she fought back tears. "Right after I had lost Carl, 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."

"It's a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits," she confessed at the time. "I'll do fine, and 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 always love him. He was a great partner to me."

Though married to one of music's biggest superstars, Dean preferred to live a private life away from the spotlight. While his family did not reveal his cause of death, he had reportedly been managing various health struggles, including Alzheimer's disease, before his passing.

Friends believe Parton's own recent crippling health issues were sparked by her husband's death, with pals believing grief, more than illness, was the main reason why she's struggled to resume singing and entertaining.

"The life she lives now without him is crippled in comparison. To know that she will never be the same absolutely has affected her deeply," one insider shared after Parton was forced to cancel her Las Vegas residency a year ago.

"Emotionally, personally, physically, it all has taken a toll. This loss will and has forever changed her and is a main reason that she has had health issues as of late."

The source claimed that after the tragedy, Parton "was not eating right, not doing the things she usually would do for her continued health, and she let things slip."

The insider explained that Parton never could quite "figure it all out."

"When Carl died, that was the first time brakes were applied and reality set in and she didn't know how to handle it," the insider claimed.

After Dean's death, fans flooded the singer with support, but still the grieving never subsided.

"Knowing Carl for decades and being the most important person in her life, now that he is gone, as much as she can take comfort in other family members and fans having her back, it is never the same."

Parton's death was announced by her nephew Brian Seaver in a video message.

According to a statement from her team, Parton's immediate family will have "a small, private [funeral] service." Parton's family and friends have been "encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media" by tagging her in posts or by leaving a message on her website.

Instead of flowers, Parton’s family has also asked for donations to be made to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. According to its website, "Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Republic of Ireland."

Parton, who launched the organization in 1995, once said of the library, "The seeds of these dreams are often found in books, and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world."