Dolly Parton Quits Music To Care For Ailing Husband After Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

Dolly has made sacrifices for her career before, but this time she’s putting her husband first.

Highlights

Dolly Parton is reportedly putting her music career on hold to prioritize caring for her ailing husband, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
She wants to make the most of their time together before his condition worsens and is focused on overseeing his care.
Dolly has sacrificed starting a family for her career and credits her husband for being a supportive force throughout her Hollywood career, even though he prefers to keep a low profile.

Dolly Parton has put a lot of things on the backburner for her career, including starting a family. But the country music legend is reportedly taking a step back from music to prioritize her ailing husband, as she wants to help care for him in the wake of his failing health.

Dolly’s Husband Was Reportedly Diagnosed With Alzheimer’s

According to various reports, Dolly’s husband Carl Dean, 31, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and the condition is deteriorating.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, memory loss, and changes in behavior, ultimately leading to a loss of ability to perform daily activities.

Though Dolly has been busy touring as well as tending to her various business ventures in recent years, she’s apparently preparing to put that on hold to put her husband first. Not only does she reportedly want to oversee his care, but she’s also focused on making the most of their time together before his condition becomes worse.
“Dolly has long been a fixture on the touring circuit, but as her husband’s health takes precedence, she has chosen to take a step back from the stage to focus on what matters most – family,” a source told National Enquirer .
“She wants to make sure they enjoy every last minute they have together,” they continued.

Dolly and Carl have been married for nearly 60 years. They wed in 1966, when she was 20 and he was 23. Dolly has credited her husband for being a huge support as she solidified her career in Hollywood, even if that meant they never started a family of their own.

Dolly Prioritized Her Career Over Having Children

In November 2020, Dolly opened up to Oprah Winfrey about the sacrifices she made for her career, including her decision to not have kids. Dolly said she didn’t believe she could give her attention the career it needed if she had children, or vice versa.

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

That same year, Dolly addressed a fan theory about her husband, which claimed he doesn’t exist since he’s so infrequently been photographed in public. The singer explained that while she’s a mega star, Carl has always preferred keeping his life private, though he’s supportive of her career.

“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Dolly told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s just not who he is. He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”

For now, Dolly hasn’t commented on reports that she’s taking a step back on her career to focus on her husband amid an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.