Dolly Parton is opening up about the last year of her life, including the death of longtime love Carl Dean.

On Friday, March 13, the country music icon, 80, spoke onstage in Tennessee to mark the opening of Dollywood’s 41st season, revealing she’s “not dating anybody” and that she doesn’t see herself getting married again after losing her husband of nearly six decades a little over a year ago.

“I think Carl Dean’s waiting for me. If I should show up at the pearly gates with somebody else, he would not like that,” Parton confessed. “He’d be saying, ‘Who’s that little pisser? You leave him outside the gates, and if the Lord wants him in, he’ll bring him. You get on in here with me.’”

Also onstage, the “Jolene” hitmaker shared how grieving Carl affected her and addressed her health challenges, which caused her to postpone her six-show Las Vegas residency from December 2025 to September 2026.

“I have been not been touring, as you know. I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them. I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” Parton admitted. “I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But, all is good. It didn’t slow me down.”

However, Parton is looking ahead, telling the audience she is working on her upcoming Broadway musical, Dolly: A True Original Musical, and that she is “writing a couple new songs for it.”

“I’ve just been doing a lot of writing, a lot of thinking, a lot of praying, and a lot of getting ready for a lot of new stuff coming up,” she added. “Be ready for me, I ain’t done!”

Music Icon, 80, Shares Health Update in Rare Appearance

Dolly Parton is back on stage. The legendary singer shared an update on her ongoing health struggles during her first onstage appearance in six months. “I’ve not been touring, as you know. I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them,” Parton, 80, said in a surprise keynote address for Dollywood’s 41st anniversary on Friday. “I’ve been up to a lot.”

“Dolly is getting better every day,” a source close to Parton told PEOPLE in a November 2025 cover story of the “I Will Always Love You” singer’s health.

 

“She is at home taking care of herself while many friends and family visit her,” the source added of Parton who just released her new book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage. “In true Dolly spirit she has already started decorating for the holidays — her favorite time of year.”