“I knew we didn’t have the kind of money for him to be spending that kind of time at the bank,” she joked in an interview with Pitchfork.
Parton has long been vocal about her Christian faith, and that same faith was essential to her marriage—especially in difficult times.
In the 1980s, Parton endured medical challenges that resulted in her being unable to have children, and the ordeal put a significant strain on her marriage and her mental health.
“It was a really bad time,” Parton said in a 2018 interview, referring to a two-year depression that forced her to scale back her professional commitments.
“Sometimes God just has to smack you down,” she said. “He was almost saying, ‘Sit your pretty little a** down because we have to deal with some stuff!’”
During that same time, Parton admitted to being in an emotional affair with another man. Parton said that the guilt she felt led her to consider suicide.
Parton recounted looking at a gun for “a long time,” saying, “Then, just as I picked it up, just to hold it, and look at it for a moment, our little dog, Popeye, came running up the stairs.”
“The tap-tap of his paws jolted me back to reality, I suddenly froze and I put the gun down,” she continued. “I kinda believe Popeye was a spiritual messenger from God.”
Despite their challenges, Parton and Dean remained married for close to 59 years, a rare feat for someone in the entertainment business.
“We’re really very proud of our marriage,” Parton said in 2011. “It’s the first for both of us—and the last.”
