Over the past few months, fears have grown for the health of the 80 year-old country music legend Dolly Parton. These concerns were spurred at the end of September when Parton postponed her Las Vegas residency from December of 2025 to September of 2026 due to health issues.
Now, Parton is speaking out to give fans an update on her health.
Parton’s Health Update
On Friday, Parton gave a keynote speech on opening day at her theme park, Dollywood. This is the 41st season that the theme park is opening. During her speech, Parton updated fans on how she is doing with her health.
“I’ve not been touring, as you know,” Parton, 80, said in footage obtained by WVLT 8. “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.”
“I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” she continued. This was a reference to Parton’s late husband Carl Dean, who she was married to for 58 years before he died on March 3, 2025 at the age of 82. “I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But, all is good. It didn’t slow me down.”
Parton went on to joke that fans should not confuse Dollywood Company President Eugene Naughton, who she shared the stage with, to be her “new husband.” She also confirmed that she is “not dating anybody” since Dean’s death.
“I think Carl Dean’s waiting for me,” Parton stated. “If I should show up at the pearly gates with somebody else, he would not like that. He’d be saying, ‘Who’s that little pisser? You leave him outside the gates.'”
Parton’s Health Challenges
Parton revealed back in September that she had been having issues with kidney stones. One month later, she postponed her Las Vegas residency due to an unspecified illness. Indeed, at the time, Parton revealed that she was postponing her performances by nearly one year to focus on her health.
“Dolly is getting better every day,” a source close to Parton told People Magazine in November.
“She is at home taking care of herself while many friends and family visit her,” the source added. “In true Dolly spirit she has already started decorating for the holidays — her favorite time of year.”
In January, Parton’s longtime music producer Kent Wells told Parade that the “Jolene” singer is doing “great” amidst concerns over her health.
“She was over here at my studio last week,” Wells said at the time. “And she seems great. She’s singing great, she looks fantastic and seems perfectly fine.”
Wells went on to say that he isn’t exactly sure what was going on with Parton’s health in the fall. However. He’s pretty sure that the issue was “fairly serious” because Parton was forced to cancel things, which is something that she would never typically do.
“I feel like she’s great,” Wells insisted. “She says she’s great. She says there’s no issue. They got it all taken care of, and that’s all I know.”
Not stopping there, Wells claimed that Parton is “100%.”
Parton is a true living legend, and there will never be another one like her. Please join us in saying a prayer for her good health moving forward!