Dolly Parton has said she overlooked her own health needs while caring for her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, before he died last year. The 80-year-old country music star was recently forced to cancel an appearance at her Dollywood theme park and has now spoken about ongoing health issues.
Parton on her health struggles
In a new interview, Parton said: “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”
She added: “It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health. But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago.”
Marriage and loss
The singer, who was married to Dean for almost 60 years until his death in March 2025, aged 82, told People: “I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healing, I’m still working.”
Dean's cause of death was withheld from the public, in keeping with his family's wish for privacy following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2019.
Recent cancellations
Earlier this month, Parton missed the opening night of a new attraction at her Tennessee theme park after experiencing dizziness and dehydration, with doctors advising her against travel.
“I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that,” she later told fans when appearing virtually, dressed in fairy wings and a pink rhinestone jumpsuit, at the event. “I’m supposed to be there in person, like we planned.”
She continued: “Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues. And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated. And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying you ain’t travelling this week. So I guess if your doctor tells you you ain’t travelling this week, you ain’t travelling this week.”
Her comments follow several postponed or cancelled appearances which led fans to raise concerns for her health. In October of last year, she posted a video to social media joking that she “ain’t dead yet.”
Parton's last public appearance was in June when she opened her Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop by cutting the roadside destination's pink ribbon.
