Dolly Parton Gets ‘Very Emotional’ Speaking About Late Husband Carl Dean on ‘Today’

Dolly Parton is opening up about the loss of her beloved husband two months after his death on March 3.

The country icon, 79, couldn’t help but get emotional as she talked about husband Carl Dean, to whom she was married for nearly 60 years, on Friday’s TODAY show.

“Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up,” Parton told Savannah Guthrie. “But we were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old.”

Life has been a “big adjustment” for Parton since Dean’s passing. “It’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits,” she confessed. “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.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by TODAY (@todayshow)

The “9 to 5” singer is “so thankful” for the love and condolences she’s received in the days since Dean’s passing. “I’ve gotten so many cards, letters, flowers, from all over the world,” she shared, joking, “I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous.”

One moment that touched Parton particularly was the viral exchange she had with an excited young fan at one of her Dollywood parades. “I remember him in the parade. I was thinking, ‘Honey, are you gonna have a heart attack right here in front of everybody?’ “ Parton said. “It was the sweetest thing. I just wanted to get off of that cart and run down and just squeeze him. It was just great.”

“I got very emotional that day after the parade because there was just so much love like that,” she continued. “Right after I had lost Carl and I was just so bottled up with emotion, and I got in the van and just boo-hooed for the longest time, just feeling all that love and emotion.”

Parton confirmed on March 3 that her husband had passed away at the age of 82. “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she wrote in a statement at the time. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)

Three days after his passing, the Grammy Award-winning artist released a song in honor of her beloved husband titled “If You Hadn’t Been There.” She wrote on Instagram at the time, “Carl and I fell in love when I was 18 and he was 23, and like all great love stories, they never end. They live in memory and in song, and I dedicate this to him.”

In the song, Parton sings, “If you hadn’t been there / Where would I be? / Without your trust, love and belief,” continuing, “The ups and downs / We’ve always shared / And I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there.”