Originally appeared on E! Online
Dolly Parton got emotional sharing her feelings about moving on following the death of her husband.
The 79-year-old shared an update about her life and wellbeing nearly two months after Carl Dean, her partner of six decades, died at age 82.
“I get very emotional when people bring it up,” Parton said in an interview with TODAY that aired on Friday. “We were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old. It is a big adjustment, just trying to change patterns and habits.”
The country music legend continued, “I’ll be 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 I’ll always love him.”
In the weeks following Dean’s death on March 3, Parton attended the opening performance of “Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs In Symphony World,” which she coproduced, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, as well as the launch of her Dollywood theme park’s 40th season celebration, where a young boy’s excited reaction to seeing the singer at a parade went viral.
READ: Inside Dolly Parton’s ultra-private love story with husband Carl Dean
“I got very emotional that day after the parade because there was so much love,” the “I Will Always Love You Singer” said. “It was right after I had lost Carl and I was just so bottled up with emotion. And I just got in the van and boohooed for the longest time, just feeling all that love and emotion.”
Parton previously expressed gratitude for all the support she’s received.
“Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl,” she later wrote to her fans. “I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me. He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”
Days later, Parton shared that she has dedicated her new song “If You Hadn’t Been There” to Dean.
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” she wrote on Instagram, alongside a throwback photo of the two. “We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”
In the track, Parton calls her husband her “rock” and reflects on how he had always supported her. The lyrics to “If You Hadn’t Been There” include the lines, “I wouldn’t be here / If you hadn’t been there / Holding my hand / Showing you care / You made me dream / More than I dared.”
