Just a heartbreaking loss.

Dolly Parton’s husband of almost 60 years, Carl Dean, passed away in Nashville at the age of 82 in March, and she has been staying busy while mounring the loss of her beloevd husband.

Dolly has made several appearances since his passing, notably showing up at Dollywood for opening day just weeks after his death, where she performed and thanked fans for all of their support. She has had several collabs, and even announced new books, since then, so she’s as busy as ever with all of her ventures and projects, and she likes it that way.

I think staying involved in work is probably better for her than sitting around the house alone, and in an interview with Today this morning, Dolly talked about the change in “patterns and habits” since she’s been by herself. Of course, it’s been a massive change to lose someone who has been by her side for so long, and her voice cracked a little bit as she admitted she gets “very emotional’ when people bring it up, because she “loved him since I was 18 years old”:

“Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up. But we were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old. It’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits. I’ll do fine, and I’m very involved in my work and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me. But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me.”

Dolly once again added how thankful she is to her fans for sending so many “cards, letters, flowers” from all over the world, and she feels very loved:

“It was, and I’m so thankful. I got so many cards, letters, flowers from all over the world. I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous.”

I just can’t imagine what her life has been like over the last couple months, but she always shows up and puts her best foot forward, and even during this time of grief and sadness, she is the picture of grace and even humor:

Dolly previously said she was “doing better than I thought I would,” and seeing as they’ve been together for 60 years, there’s going to be a huge learning curve to adjusting without the love of her life:

“I’m doing better than I thought I would. 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. I need to laugh. I need some fun, so I’m probably gonna be stupid. I’ve been crying enough the last week or two… I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him.”

She explained that her husband had “suffered a great deal,” and though she has a “hole in her heart,” he will always be with her in spirit:

“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. He used to come to the park; he bought his own ticket – stood in line and got his ticket. He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket ‘cause he was Dolly’s husband. Everybody thinks that’s the funniest thing.”

They had a once-in-a-lifetime love, and the famous story goes that Dolly and Carl met outside of the Wishy Washy laundromat in Nashville in 1964, the same day that Dolly moved to Music City. They dated for two years, and decided they wanted to get married. And actually, at the time of their wedding, Dolly’s newfound record label didn’t want her to get married at all. They thought it might tarnish her image, and as we all know, Dolly did what she wanted anyways… so she and Carl Dean secretly ran off to Ringgold, Georgia, along with Parton’s mom Avie Lee as a witness, and headed for the local courthouse.

The rest, as they say, is history, and he’s been by her side for decades, and while we never saw him in-person, he was a guiding light and rock in the life of an incredible woman who accomplished everything and more. I can’t imagine how sad the must be deep down, but it looks, and sounds, like she’s doing relatively okay, which is great to hear.

Dolly recently released a beautiful tribute to her late husband called “If You Hadn’t Been There,” which you should definitely check out below.

“If You Hadn’t Been There”