Dolly Parton's health woes take dark turn after husband Carl Dean's death

Dolly Parton has reportedly left “everything in God’s hands” amid her deteriorating health, making her inner circle worried.

For those unaware, Parton’s husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, passed away at the age of 81 on March 3, 2025, after a long and undisclosed illness. Following the death of Dean, she has been facing severe health issues, such as a compromised immune/digestive system and chronic kidney stones.

Parton has also cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to ongoing health challenges, which was scheduled for December 2025 but was moved to September 2026 that has also been called off.

An insider told Daily Mail that her husband’s death is considered a major factor in her health struggles, as she has been broken by the grief after Carl’s demise, which is causing a hindrance in her return to the stage.

The source said, “The life she lives now without him is crippled in comparison. To know that she will never be the same absolutely has affected her deeply. Emotionally, personally, physically, it all has taken a toll. This loss will and has forever changed her and is a main reason that she has had health issues as of late.”

Parton is overwhelmed by the anguish that she “was not eating right, not doing the things she usually would do for her continued health, and she let things slip.”

“She has given herself various amounts of time to grieve and may have not grieved enough and has left some things in God's hand,” shared the insider.

A year after Carl’s demise, the Grass is Blue songstress is still “trying to figure it all out.”

“When Carl died, that was the first time brakes were applied and reality set in and she didn't know how to handle it,” the source said.