Dolly Parton says she kept her late husband Carl Dean’s health battle under wraps from her fans, revealing he had been ailing for some time.

In an interview with The Independent published Wednesday, the 78-year-old music legend revealed that her husband, Carl Dean, had been unwell for an extended period before his death at the age of 82 on March 3.

The Pittman Center, Tennessee-born icon told the outlet: ‘I really feel his presence. I just try to go on, because I know I have to.’

The Grammy-winning artist continued: ‘And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore.

‘But that still doesn’t make up for the loss and the loneliness of it.’

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Dolly Parton says she kept her late husband Carl Dean’s health battle under wraps from her fans, revealing he had been ill for quite a while 

The 78-year-old music legend shared that her spouse had been dealing with illness for a prolonged time before his passing on March 3 at the age of 82. The image shows her on January 28 in Nashville.

The Here You Come Again artist also cited religion as a major factor in the life in dealing with her soulmate’s tragic passing after an extended illness.

‘I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday,’ Parton told the outlet.

She added, ‘And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together.

‘You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans – but that’s the hardest part.’

Parton told the AP in a statement upon Dean’s passing that he died in Nashville and was set to have a private funeral.

‘Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,’ Parton said in a statement at the time. ‘Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.’

She wrapped up in telling her fans: ‘Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.’

The Pittman Center, Tennessee-born icon told the outlet: ‘I really feel his presence. I just try to go on, because I know I have to 

Dolly Parton was pictured in England in 2014 at the Glastonbury Festival

Parton past said her signature hit Jolene was inspired by a stunning bank teller who had been partial to her spouse. 

Parton made the revelation about the track, which came out in October of 1973, while in concert at the Glastonbury Festival 2014.

Parton explained to the crowd of how the tune  came to be creatively, The Independent reported at the time.

After performing the song – which has been covered by Beyoncé and a host of other artists – Parton told the crowd, ‘Now, some of you may or may not know that that song was loosely based on a little bit of truth.’

‘I wrote that years ago when my husband … was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be.’

After the crowd booed at the news of Dean’s roving eye, Parton reassured the fans she ‘put a stop to that’ and ‘got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry,’ spurring cheers from the crowd.

Parton told the audience that channeling her emotions from the uncomfortable situation into a Grammy-winning song ultimately made her very wealthy.

‘I want you folks to know, though, that something good can come from anything,’ Parton said. ‘Had it not been for that woman I would never have written Jolene and I wouldn’t have made all that money, so thank you, Jolene.’

The Pittman Center, Tennessee-born icon said of Dean: ‘I really feel his presence. I just try to go on, because I know I have to’

Speaking with NPR in a 2008 chat, Parton said that the woman who inspired the track had ‘this terrible crush on [her] husband and he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. 

‘It was kinda like a running joke between us – when I was saying, “Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.” So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.’

Parton told NPR about the physical characteristics the woman displayed and how they differed from her own: ‘She had everything I didn’t, like legs. You know, she was about six-feet-tall.

‘So no matter how beautiful a woman might be, you’re always threatened by certain… You’re always threatened by other women, period.’

While the emotions brought about by the bank teller made for the creative backbone of the hit song, Parton said the name Jolene itself was from a young fan who attended one of her concerts.

‘One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl – she was probably 8 years old at the time,’ she told the outlet. ‘And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph.

‘I said, “Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?” And she said, “Jolene.” 

Parton added, ‘And I said, “Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.” I said, “That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.”‘