Dolly Parton 'dreamed' of having children but admits choice was blessing in disguise
Country music legend Dolly Parton released many songs over the course of her career some of which are based on her real life. Many of Dolly’s tunes see her singing about heartbreak and relationships. In her seventies, the Jolene singer opened up about how she once “dreamed” of having children, but never did.
Dolly Parton turned 77 years old in 2023. The singer and songwriter is hailed as a country music icon. After recording and writing all kinds of hit songs, including Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, it’s no wonder that Dolly is recognized all over the world.
Dolly Parton ‘dreamed’ of having children
Despite being married for almost 60 years, Dolly and her husband never had children.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2014, Dolly explained that she and her husband had “dreamed” of having kids.
She said:
“My husband and I, when we first got married, we thought about if we had kids, what would they look like? Would they be tall – because he’s tall? Or would they be little squats like me? If we’d had a girl, she was gonna be called Carla… Anyway, we talked about it, and we dreamed it, but it wasn’t meant to be. Now that we’re older? We’re glad.”
Explaining why she was “glad” they never had a family together, Dolly added that she probably wouldn’t have become a star if she’d been a mother.
She said: “I would have been a great mother, I think. I would probably have given up everything else. Because I would’ve felt guilty about that, if I’d have left them [to work, to tour].”
She’s been married since 1966
Dolly’s husband is Carl Thomas Dean. After 57 years of marriage, the two are still together today.
Carl was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1942 and is now 81 years old.
Dolly also hails from Tennessee, but the two married in Georgia.
They met in a local launderette in 1964 and married two years later, writes Smooth Radio.
Dolly went through hard times
In an exclusive interview with Closer in 2018, Dolly explained that she grew up as one of 12 children.
Despite coming from a large family, she never had children herself which may lead some of her fans to ask why.
The music legend has had to face many hard times in her life including dealing with a partial hysterectomy in 1984.
Dolly was told she’d never be able to have children.
Speaking to Closer, she said that she went into a two-year depression after finding out the news: “It was a really bad time.”
However, upon releasing her first album for kids, I Believe In You, in 2017, Dolly explained to Today that she is at peace with the fact she didn’t have children.
She told Today: “God has a plan for everything, I think it probably was his plan for me not to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine. And they are now.”
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