Dolly Parton and country legend Merle Haggard spent time on the road together in the early days of her career. He has publicly admitted, more than once, to falling in love with her, though she never reciprocated the feeling. Haggard said that he and Parton grew close while touring. The person he knew was so much more complex than what the public sees. 

Country singer Merle Haggard spoke about the ‘real’ Dolly Parton

Parton is now a global star, but Haggard knew her in the early days of her fame. They were on several tours together, and he said they bonded.

“We’d been booked on several tours together, and because of our love for the business, and what seemed to be our own mutual admiration society, we began to spend more time together on the road,” he wrote in his 1981 book Sing Me Back Home: My Story. “If she wasn’t on my bus, then I was on hers. The roads between one date and the next never rolled off so damn fast.”

She discussed her dreams with him, and he said it was impossible to listen to her and not believe she would achieve them. She has become a superstar and is beloved by many, but Haggard said he appreciated getting to know the real Parton.

“Dolly Parton is sure not what the public sees — there is just so much more to the lady than that,” he wrote. “I felt almost honored to be in the presence and see the ‘real’ Dolly. I got the feeling she was afraid to show this side of herself to too many people. It was clear that she’d been hurt and betrayed more than once.”

Though their relationship grew strained because of his unrequited feelings for her, she praised him after his death.