Dolly Parton opens up about parenthood following husband's death

Dolly Parton is opening up about embracing parenthood with her late husband Carl Dean, to whom she was married for nearly 60 years.

The Jolene singer’s husband tragically passed away on Monday March 3, just ahead of their 59th wedding anniversary in May 2025.

During an exclusive interview with Billboard in 2014, Dolly revealed the real reason behind not having kids with the love of her life.

She told the outlet at the time, "Early on, when my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids.

"We weren't doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did, but it didn't turn out that way.

"Now that Carl and I are older, we often say, 'Aren't you glad we didn't have kids? Now we don't have kids to worry about.'"

In response to a question about family planning, she was asked if she regrets her decision to not get pregnant.

Speaking to Saga Magazine, she explained, "When you're a young couple, you think you're going to have kids, but it just wasn't one of those burning things for me.”

For the unversed, Dolly tied the knot with Carl Thomas Dean on May 30, 1966.