Dolly Parton Says She Never Had A ‘Burning’ Desire For Kids With Her Longtime Husband
The “Jolene” singer has been married to Carl Dean since 1966
Dolly Parton is opening up about why she never had the urge to become a mom.
In a new interview with Saga Magazine, the “Rockin’ Years” singer ― who has been married to her husband, businessman Carl Dean, since 1966 ― said she hasn’t “missed it” like she thought she would after the two ultimately chose not to start a family.
“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,” Parton, 77, explained. “I had my career and my music and I was traveling.”
The 11-time Grammy winner said she doesn’t think her career would have flourished as much as it did if she’d had children.
“If I’d had kids, I’d have stayed home with them, I’m sure, and worried myself to death about them,” Parton said. “With everything that’s going on, I’d hate to be bringing a child into this world right now.”
“I’m almost glad I never had children,” she said then. “I worry myself to death about my little nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.”
The “Joyful Noise” star might not have kids of her own, but she is famously the godmother of singer Miley Cyrus.
In November, Parton revealed that she agreed to be Cyrus’ godmother when she was touring with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, as he promoted his 1992 single “Achy Breaky Heart.”
“We just got to be good friends because he’s a Kentucky boy, I’m from Tennessee,” Parton said during an interview on SiriusXM’s “The Howard Stern Show.” “And he said… ‘We’re having a girl, and you’ve got to be her godmother!’ And I said, ‘Well, I’d be honored.’ So actually, Miley and I took over from there, and we’ve just stayed very, very close through the years.”
