Dolly Parton admits her husband would "expect" her to keep going after his death.
The 79-year-old music icon's beloved spouse Carl Dean died two months ago, and she has opened up about dealing with her grief in the weeks after his passing.
She told E! News: "We were together 60 years - dated tow years, and then we married. I met him the first day I moved to Nashville when I was 18 years old.
"So, it's been a lifetime - it's a hard one. But we move on, we work, and he'd expect that of me, and I'd expect that of myself.
"I'll always love him, I do miss him though."
She released new song 'If You Hadn't Been There' just days after her husband's death, reflecting on how much he meant to her.
The track will be included in the upcoming autobiographical stage show 'Dolly: An Original Musical'.
She added: "When Carl passed away, I just thought, I was in pieces, what can I do to do something for me and him, and the fans, to express what I was feeling?'
"So that's the song that I put out, in honour of him. It's gonna be one of the favourite songs in the musical as well."
admitted she still gets “very emotional” when talking about him.
Speaking on the ‘Today’ show, she said: “Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up. But we were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old.
“It’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits. I’ll do 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 always love him. He was a great partner to me.”
Dolly also joked she had no idea Car was “so famous” as she thanked fans for the outpouring of love following his death.
She quipped: “I’m so thankful. I’ve gotten so many cards, letters, flowers, from all over the world. I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous.”
