EXCLUSIVE: Dolly Parton's Secret 'Affair of the Heart' Revealed Amid Trump Tribute
Dolly Parton's private heartbreak over an alleged 'affair of the heart' has resurfaced following her death at 80.
Aug. 26 2026, Updated 8:00 p.m. ET
Dolly Parton's private heartbreak over an alleged "affair of the heart" has resurfaced following her death at 80 – as President Donald Trump ordered American flags lowered in tribute to the country music legend.
As Radaronline.com reported, Parton's death was announced on Tuesday, August 25, by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who said she had asked him years earlier to record the message that would inform fans of her passing.
Dolly Parton met Carl Dean at a Nashville laundromat in 1964.
The revelation has prompted renewed interest in Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters With Dolly Parton, edited by Randy Schmidt, which detailed an intensely painful period in Parton's life during the early 1980s and an unidentified relationship that left her heartbroken.
A source familiar with the accounts collected in the book told Radar in an exclusive interview: "Dolly never pretended that her marriage to Carl Dean meant she was incapable of developing powerful feelings for somebody else. What happened appears to have been an affair of the heart rather than something she ever clearly defined as physical, but emotionally it affected her enormously."
The Dark Spiral That Nearly Broke Her
Dolly Parton clashed with Burt Reynolds during a movie filming.
Parton had been struggling on several fronts at the time.
She had endured a difficult experience working with Burt Reynolds on the 1982 movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, received death threats that forced her to cancel a tour and suffered health problems, including abdominal bleeding.
She also gained about 50 pounds through overeating and later described being devastated by the breakdown of a relationship with an unnamed "lover."
The Shocking Gun Incident Explained
She contemplated suicide during a deeply painful period.
Parton recalled reaching one particularly desperate moment when she noticed the gun she kept in her bedroom.
She said: "I was sitting upstairs in my bedroom one afternoon when I noticed in the nightstand drawer my gun that I keep for burglars."
Parton said she picked it up before her dog Popeye suddenly ran upstairs.
She added: "The tap-tap-tap of his paws jolted me back to reality. I suddenly froze. I put the gun down. Then I prayed. I kinda believe Popeye was a spiritual messenger from God."
Parton later said: "I don't think I'd have done it – killed myself – but I can't say for sure. Now that I've gone through that terrible moment, I can certainly understand the possibilities – even for someone solid like me – if the pain gets bad enough."
True Love And A Tragic Farewell
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Trump praised the legendary singer on Truth Social.
Schmidt's book is said to have contained clues linking Parton's emotional attachment to bandleader Gregg Perry, although it did not establish the relationship was physical.
Parton said she had "cried an ocean" over the episode.
The singer repeatedly rejected suggestions her long marriage to Carl Dean meant either partner was free to have sexual relationships elsewhere.
She said in 2014: "Yes, it's an open relationship, but not sexually, and I would kill him if I thought he was doing that. He would shoot me too. At the end of the day, we love each other madly."
Parton and Dean met outside Nashville's Wishy Washy Laundromat and married on May 30, 1966.
They later renewed their vows for their 50th anniversary.
Dean died in March 2025 at 82.
Trump paid tribute to Parton following Tuesday's announcement of her death, describing her on Truth Social as "one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER."
He added: "This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will."
Trump ordered flags lowered for one week, adding: "Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you. President DONALD J. TRUMP."
