Dolly Parton is “doing better” than she expected following the death of her husband Carl Dean.
The 9 to 5 hitmaker has shared an update on how she’s doing following the death of her husband of almost 60 years earlier this month.
“I’m doing better than I thought I would,” the country music icon told Knox News. “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.”
The 79-year-old noted that Dean “suffered a great deal” towards the end, and added, “I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him… 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.”
Parton met Dean outside a laundrette in Nashville, Tennessee in 1964, when she was 18 years old, and they got married in 1966. Dean, who never joined his wife at public events, passed away on 3 March aged 82.
The Jolene singer made her first public appearance almost two weeks later at the opening celebration for her Dollywood theme park’s 40th season on 14 March.
Speaking to Knox News after the event, Parton revealed that Dean would visit Dollywood without her and come home with feedback.
“He would say, ‘You need more bathrooms,'” she laughed, imitating his voice. “Or he would say, ‘You need to tell them this or that. It’s crowded over in that area. You might want to tell them they ought to do this or that.’
“He wasn’t coming to criticise, but he would notice things and he would say, you might want to bring this to their attention.”
The country star may carry on her late husband’s tradition, adding that she might “do like Carl” and “just walk around, look at everything”.
