Dolly Parton said goodbye to her husband, Carl Dean on March 3 after he passed away aged 82 in Nashville.
The country music legend was married to Carl for 58 years and they would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in May 2025.
Despite their decades-long marriage, the couple never welcomed any children, although Dolly previously admitted it wasn't for lack of trying.
"Early on, when my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids," she told Billboard in 2014.
"We weren't doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did, but it didn't turn out that way.
"Now that Carl and I are older, we often say, 'Aren't you glad we didn't have kids? Now we don't have kids to worry about.'"
© InstagramDolly reflected on not having children in 2023 when she was asked if she regrets not starting a family, and while she did at first, she doesn't anymore.
"I haven't missed it like I thought I might," she told Saga Magazine. "When you're a young couple, you think you're going to have kids, but it just wasn't one of those burning things for me.
© Getty Images"I had my career and my music, and I was travelling. If I'd had kids, I'd have stayed at home with them. I'm sure and worried myself to death about them."
She added: "With everything that's going on, I'd hate to be bringing a child into this world right now! I always say God didn't let me have children so that all kids could be mine."
© InstagramWhile Dolly and Carl didn't have kids of their own, she is one of 12 children and previously revealed she is "very close" to her nieces and nephews.
Though Dolly and Carl were content to not have children, her medical history could be part of the reason they didn't expand their family.
© Getty ImagesIn her 2017 book Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton, the "Jolene" singer shared that she was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 35.
The condition means tissue similar to those in the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, causing extreme pain, with 30–50% of people with endometriosis struggling to fall pregnant.
© Silver Screen CollectionThe singer went on to have a partial hysterectomy at the age of 36, meaning she wouldn't be able to have children naturally. Dolly's operation seriously impacted her, writing in her book: "Suddenly I was a middle-aged woman. I went through a dark time."
Dolly and Carl wed on 30 May, 1966, and marked their 50th wedding anniversary in 2016 by getting married for a second time.
© Getty Images"We're going to get married again!" Dolly gushed to People ahead of their vow renewal. "I'll have a beautiful wedding dress, 'cause I didn't have a big, long wedding dress when we got married, and we've got a suit for him, so we're going to dress up and take a bunch of pictures."
Announcing his death on Instagram, Dolly said: "Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy. The family asks for privacy during this difficult time."
