Dolly Parton is coping with the death of her husband Carl Dean as best she can.
The country diva reflected on her loss while speaking to local television station Knox News during a surprise appearance at her Dollywood theme park and resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, last week.
“I’m doing better than I thought I would,” she told Knox News while celebrating Dollywood’s 40th anniversary. “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.”
Dolly added that Carl, who died on 3 March at the age of 82, suffered “a great deal” before his death. His cause of death has not been made public, but he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease since 2019.
“I’m at peace that he’s at peace,” she told Knox News. “But that don’t keep me from missing and loving him.”
The I Will Always Love You singer added that while there is now a “hole in my heart” she plans to “fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me”.
Dolly and Carol met back in 1964 during her first day living in Nashville. They married two years later, in 1966.
Her late husband famously stayed out of the public eye during their nearly six-decade marriage, opting to let Dolly step into the spotlight solo through the years.
Late last year, the star opened about Carol’s aversion to big music industry events during an appearance on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast.
After twisting his arm to attend the 1967 BMI Awards with her, he admitted parties like that weren’t his cup of tea.
“He said, ‘Look, now I want you to do everything you want to do and I wish you the best, but don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things ‘cause I ain’t going’,” Dolly recalled.