Dolly Parton Chokes Backs Tears During Dollywood Anniversary Speech

In an episode of her Apple Music show, Parton spoke about Dean never wanting to be in the limelight amid her successful career.

She shared: “He went to one thing with me early on when we first married to a BMI Song of the Year, and he came out there taking off his tuxedo, his tie, and all that, and said, ‘Don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these d— things because I ain’t going.’ I never asked him, and he never did.”

After reportedly being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019, the 9 to 5 singer’s partner of roughly 60 years started to decline both mentally and physically.

Before his passing, a source claimed Dean was “too weak to get out of bed to greet” Parton, 79, when she came home during the former asphalt contractor’s final days.

An insider claimed: “He’s been sick and feeling under the weather for a long time, and Dolly’s doing everything in her power to make him feel better.

“She’s by his side almost all the time now, except when she absolutely has to leave for her work.”