Dolly Parton has said that any new music has been put on hold following the death of her husband, Carl Dean.
The country music queen, 79, was married to her husband for almost 60 years until his death in March 2025.
Appearing on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, Khloé in Wonder Land, Parton opened up about how she has been struggling to complete songs because she is still processing her grief.
“[There are] several things I have wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” she told the reality TV star when asked whether she ever suffered from writer’s block, or had begun to write a song but not finished it.
“I will later,” Parton continued, People reports. “I’m just coming up with such wonderful beautiful ideas, but I think I won’t finish it. I can’t do it right now, because [I’ve] got so many other things.
“I can’t afford the luxury of, you know, getting that emotional right now. There are times like that, things like that, that will stall you a little bit. But I’ll write something else though, if it comes.”
The 10-time Grammy winner added: “I’m just putting all that on hold.”
Last month, Parton spoke of how her faith had been a source of strength after Carl Dean’s death.
“I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday,” she told the Associated Press.
“And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together. You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans – but that’s the hardest part.”
Parton’s husband famously shunned the limelight but was known for inspiring some of her biggest hits, including “Jolene”.
“I really feel his presence,” Parton said. “I just try to go on, because I know I have to. And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore. But that still doesn’t make up for the loss and the loneliness of it.“
Dean was always “very proud” of her, she explained.
“So when I did lose him, I just thought, well, I’m going to take all of that energy, and I'm just going to put that back into other things, and I’ll keep him ever-present in everything that I do.”
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