Being married to Carl Dean was a highlight of Dolly Parton’s life.
Now, four months after her husband’s death at 82, the country singer is stepping back from making music.
“I can’t do it right now,” Parton, 79, said on Thursday’s episode of Khloé Kardashian’s “Khloé in Wonder Land” podcast, “cause I got so many other things that I can’t afford the luxury of getting emotional right now.”
Khloe Kardashian/X
“I’ll write something else, though, if it comes. I’m just putting that all on hold,” she noted.
Parton also admitted that, right now, she is “stalled.”
Despite taking a step back from recording, Parton is set to hit the Las Vegas stage later this year.
Last month, the country icon announced her six-show “Dolly: Live In Las Vegas” residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace from Dec. 4 to 13.
“To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I haven’t worked Vegas in years and I’ve always loved singing there,” Parton said in a statement, referencing her ’90s performance at the Mirage. “I’m looking so forward to the shows in the Colosseum at Caesars and I hope you are as well. See you there.”
After Dean’s passing, the “Steel Magnolias” actress released an emotional song titled “If You Hadn’t Been There.”
Parton used a throwback photo of herself and Dean as the album cover art, which she shared on Instagram.
In the picture, the young star wraps her arms around her husband’s neck as she stands behind him.
“Carl and I fell in love when I was 18 and he was 23, and like all great love stories, they never end,” Parton captioned the post. “They live in memory and in song, and I dedicate this to him.”
A little over a week after Dean died, Parton made her first public appearance at Dollywood’s Celebrity Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
While visiting the theme park to help kick off the resort’s 40th operating season, Parton addressed her husband’s death.
“Of course I will always love him, and I’ll miss him, but I wanted you to know that I will always love you,” she stated, per local news.
Parton also sat down with Knox News for an interview about how she was coping without her longtime significant other.
“I’m doing better than I thought I would,” admitted the artist. “I’ve been with him 60 years. So, I’m going to have to relearn some of the things that we’ve done. But I’ll keep him always close.”
Parton added she’s “at peace that he’s at peace,” but expressed that she is still “missing” and “loving him.”
“[Dean] suffered a great deal,” Parton acknowledged, explaining that it’s “a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me.”
The couple was married for 59 years, with Parton confirming his death on social media.
Parton and Dean met at Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville when she was 18. They tied the knot on May 30, 1966, and never had children.
“My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl.’ My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good looking.’ And that was the day my life began,” Dean told “Entertainment Tonight” in 2016. “I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this Earth.”
Over the years, the late businessman largely stayed out of the spotlight and let Parton take center stage.
In May, the “9 to 5” star revealed the secret to their successful union.
“It is important to have someone there in your corner and you know they’ll love you for just who you are,” Parton said while on E! News. “There’s a great comfort in knowing that someone loves you exactly for who you are — because he fell in love with me before I became a star.
“To him, I’m his star,” sh›e gushed, adding that their dynamic has “worked for us because we both do different things and it’s exciting when we are together.”
