Dolly Parton Announces She’s Retiring From Touring So She Can ‘Stay Closer To My Husband’

The country music legend Dolly Parton has announced that she will never tour again because she wants to spend more time with her husband Carl Dean, who she’s been married to for 56 years. 

‘I Do Not Think I Will Ever Tour Again’

“I do not think I will ever tour again, but I do know I’ll do special shows here and there, now and then,” Parton, 76, told Pollstar.

“Maybe a long weekend of shows or just a few shows at a festival. But I have no intention of going on a full-blown tour anymore,” she added. “I’ve done that my whole life, and it takes so much time and energy. I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband. We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time.”

Parton went on to say that “something could happen,” and that she might have to leave a tour if a family member got sick, which would disappoint her fans.

“I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me,” she explained. “Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.” 

Daily Mail reported that Parton’s last tour was her Pure & Simple tour, which featured 65 shows across North America from June of 2016 to July of 2017. 

Related: Dolly Parton Stuns Fans By Revealing ‘Sex’ Is Her Weakness – Jokes That She’s ‘Sick’ Of Her Husband

Parton Previously Said She Wanted To Die Onstage

Parton’s latest comments are in contrast to what she said in 2018, when she said that “dying in the middle of a song” is how she wants to pass away.

“It’ll happen when it happens,” she said at the time. “That’s how I feel. I am grateful that I am still here. So many people have more talent than I’ve ever dreamed of having that never get to see dreams come true.”

“There’s a whole lot to be said for loving your work and having confidence in yourself. I never once thought of retiring,” she continued. “I just hope I fall dead in the middle of a song, hopefully one I wrote, right on stage. That’s the way I go!”

Though Parton and Dean have been married for over half a century, he’s always preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

“He’s always supporting me as long as I don’t try to drag him in on it,” Parton once told People Magazine. “He’s always been my biggest fan behind the scenes, but he’s at home.”

Questions About Dean

In fact, Dean has stayed so out of the spotlight that some people have questioned whether or not he really exists. 

“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” she previously told Entertainment Tonight in response to those questioning his existence. “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.”

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Related: Dolly Parton Reveals Why Her Husband Of 54 Years Stays Out Of The Spotlight

Parton has also said that it’s been “natural” to keep the details of her marriage private. 

“I’ve known how to keep my husband private. It’s just natural to me to protect the things and the people I love and to protect my own privacy,” she said, according to Music Mayhem.

“There’s a part that belongs to God and to me,” she continued. “It’s a sacred place that just is mine and God’s, and I’ve known how to do that because I think God has directed that. I pray that also that God will give me enough to share and enough to spare when it comes to my money but also to myself. Let me share everything I can but let me keep me.” 

While we’re sad that Parton will not be touring again in the future, we can’t argue with her goal of spending more time with her husband. Hopefully, she can have many years of happiness with Dean in the years to come!