Dolly Parton has opened up about her ongoing health struggles, revealing she neglected her own wellbeing while caring for her late husband.
The country music legend, 80, has been forced to cancel a number of appearances over the past few months as she deals with health problems.
Dolly Parton has shared a fresh update on her ongoing health struggles. Getty Images for The Recording A
Parton has revealed she is still recovering and said some issues went unattended while she was looking after her husband Carl Dean before his death last year.
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she told People.
Dean, who was married to Parton for almost 60 years, died in March 2025 aged 82.
“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she said, referencing months she spent unwell with “female issues” during the 1980s.
“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’.”
The update comes just one week after Parton was forced to pull out of an appearance at her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee.
Parton told fans at the time that she had been suffering from dizziness and dehydration, prompting her doctor to temporarily ban her from travelling.
The country music legend was forced to miss a major Dollywood appearance last week. Getty
“And so my Nashville doctor kind of clipped my wings, saying you ain’t travelling this week,” she explained.
“So I guess if your doctor tells you ‘you ain’t travelling this week’, you ain’t travelling this week,” she said.
“But I like to keep all of you in the loop, like I said I would on everything.”
The singer has also previously revealed she suffered from kidney stones, while her immune and digestive systems were “all out of whack”.
Her health problems forced her to postpone a planned Las Vegas residency, with Parton admitting in May she was improving but not yet ready to return to the stage.
At the time, she revealed some of her medication left her feeling “swimmy headed” and joked that being dizzy while carrying instruments in five-inch heels wasn’t a good idea.
Parton has now announced plans for the Life of Many Colours Museum in downtown Nashville. The museum will form part of her new SongTeller Hotel.