What Dolly Parton has said about not having children with husband Carl Dean

Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, died at age 82 on March 3, after the pair spent more than 60 years together.

A statement posted on the country star’s Instagram page said Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending.

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,” Parton said.

The couple never had any children, and Parton, 79, has said that her journey to becoming a country music star and successful businesswoman depended on the sacrifices she’s made in her personal life.

Parton spoke with Oprah Winfrey about her career and her life with Dean during an episode of “The Oprah Conversation” on Apple TV+ in 2020.

“Since I had no kids, and my husband was pretty independent, I had freedom,” she said. “So I think a big part of my whole success is the fact that I was free to work.”

Parton also said she was OK with not having children in an interview on TODAY in 2017.

“God has a plan for everything,” she said. “I think it probably was his plan for me not to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine. And they are now.”

The couple largely lived independent lives while Parton was often off touring and performing, and Dean spent much of his life out of the spotlight after they tied the knot in 1966.

Parton has been involved in the lives of millions of kids through her Imagination Library, which has gifted hundreds of millions of books to children from birth until they enter kindergarten.

“And I didn’t have children because I believed that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library, because if I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done,” Parton told Winfrey in 2020. “I wouldn’t be in a position to do all of the things I’m doing now.”

Winfrey also asked Parton if she has had to make sacrifices in order to achieve her level of success, which includes 25 No. 1 songs on the Billboard country charts, 10 Grammy Awards, an acting career and owning the popular theme park Dollywood and several other businesses in her home state of Tennessee.

“I’ve made sacrifices, but I think, like I said, I believe what I know I’m supposed to do,” Parton said. “I’ve made the sacrifice of time … and not having time to spend with family, and you give up family and friends, vacation, and work without end, 24/7, 365, but you got to make the sacrifice.”