Dolly Parton Isn't Looking For Love Again & This Is The Emotional Reason Why

When Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died at the age of 82, in March 2025, the legendary country star was understandably devastated. The couple had been happily married for almost 60 years, and the "Jolene" hitmaker has made it clear that she's not planning on finding love again in this lifetime. But it's not for the reasons you might think. While Parton has weathered many tragedies throughout her life, the Grammy winner isn't interested in falling in love again because she's necessarily afraid of repeating her current heartbreak — it's because Parton is still madly in love with Dean. 

At the opening of Dollywood's 41st season in March 2026, the country icon opened up about her husband's death and how she believes she will see him again in the afterlife. "There's a lot of rumors going around, but I'm not dating anybody," Parton announced to the assembled crowd (via YouTube). "I don't think I'll ever be married but once. I think Carl Dean's waiting for me on the other side." We're not crying, you're crying! Naturally, the "9 to 5" hitmaker's decision to shelve romance isn't that surprising since she's known Dean since she was 18 years old. Parton bumped into him at a laundromat shortly after moving to Nashville to pursue her dreams in 1964, and it was love at first sight. 

While Dean was a very private person, he disclosed in a rare interview that he immediately knew Parton was the one. "My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl,'" he recalled, per The New Yorker. "My second thought was, 'Lord she's good looking.'" Parton and Dean got talking, and they kept it up until all of her laundry was done. The rest is history.

Hollywood has seen more than its fair share of short celebrity marriages, but Dolly Parton and Carl Dean were definitely in it for the long haul. It's difficult to imagine how someone could possibly move on after losing their partner of six decades, and the country star fully acknowledges that it hasn't been easy. "I get very emotional when people bring it up," she confessed during a May 2025 interview with Today. "It's a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits [...] But I'll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me."

During a chat with the Associated Press, Parton reiterated, "I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I'm going to see him again someday." The singer-songwriter disclosed that Dean had been sick before his death, hinting at the challenges it brought and how she knew his passing ultimately meant he no longer had to endure the pain of his illness. But the "9 to 5" star also shared that, as comforting as that idea was, the agony of losing him was still there. "That still doesn't make up for the loss and the loneliness of it," she pointed out. 

Parton has been dealing with some health issues of her own and had fans very worried after her sister, Freida Parton, asked them to pray for her in an October 2025 Facebook post. In a follow-up post on Instagram, Parton reassured everybody that she was fine. "When [Carl] passed, I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of," she said, emphasizing that she was hard at work. The Grammy winner hilariously captioned it: "I ain't dead yet!"