Dolly Parton spoke about putting her own health aside to care for husband Carl just days before death

Dolly Parton confessed to putting her own health issues aside to care for husband, in a candid admission just days before her death.

The iconic musician's nephew announced the devastating news in a video statement today (August 25).

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality," said Bryan Seaver, who also served as his aunt's head of security for two years.

He added: "My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been your television, your record player, your CD, becoming an extended part of your family. Whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever."

But in her final days, she admitted to neglecting her own health issues while caring for her late-husband, Carl Dean.

Speaking to People, she said: "I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl."

Dean, who was married to Parton for almost six decades, died in March 2025 at the age of 82.

The singer admitted she has experienced similar struggles before, as she recalled being ‘down for several months with female issues’ during the early 1980s.

Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80 (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Parton said: "It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health.

"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'."

Parton's nephew paid tribute to her in the announcement, referencing both her musical influence and the obstacles that she overcame in life.

“Dolly opened doors not just for me but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible," he said.

“Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life, and across every continent.

“By her example we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history."

Parton's family announced her passing in a prepared statement on her social media pages (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Parton become an international superstar, saying of her outlook: “I’ve always believed things would go well, and I dreamed that they would even before I was in high school. I always wanted to be a star. It just seemed natural to me."

But her beginnings were far from the enormous success she would achieve. Parton was born in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, her mother's fourth child of 12 that her mom would have by the time she was 35.

She would appear on local TV when she was just 10 years old, pressing her first record at the age of 13.

Parton was also known for her dry wit, once responding perfectly to attention to her iconic appearance quipping: “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.”

Concluding the announcement of her passing, her nephew referenced one of her most iconic songs, saying: “May god bless Dolly Parton, and may god bless you all. She will always love you.”