Dolly Parton’s Sister Blames Overwork, Not a Broken Heart, for Her Decline
In one of her final messages shared with fans, Dolly Parton admitted that she neglected her health while taking care of her ailing husband, Carl Dean. Parton died in August, roughly a year after her husband. While some have questioned whether heartbreak contributed to her decline, her sister doesn’t. Stella Parton said that she thinks her sister worked too hard.
Dolly Parton’s sister thinks she worked too hard
Parton died roughly a year and a half after Dean, her husband of 60 years. Parton spoke about how difficult this loss was. As a result, some people wondered if this led to the decline in her health. Stella doubted this, though.
“I think she was very sad, but I don’t think that’s why she got sick,” she told CBS News. “I think my sister worked so hard, for so long and just kept going. Even to the last conversation I had with her, she was working. That was her passion.”
During her lifetime, Parton repeatedly discussed how much she enjoyed her work.
Her manager said that she worked up until the day she died
Just as Stella noted, Parton worked all the way up to the end of her life. Her manager, Danny Nozell, confirmed that her work ethic never flagged.
“Dolly worked up until the day she died,” he shared in a press release (per E! News). “She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy.”
She worked on a number of upcoming projects, including a Broadway musical, a hotel, and a museum.
“Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come,” Nozell said. “As the leader of the team responsible for overseeing her legacy, we will ensure the many dreams she had yet to fulfill are brought to life.”
Dolly Parton admitted she neglected her health after her husband died
Just days before her death, Parton gave an update about her health.
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she told People.
While she admitted to dealing with health issues, she said that social media might be amplifying her struggles. She assured fans that she was still hard at work.
“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she said. “But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’.”
