Dolly Parton Insists ‘All Is Good’ in First Public Appearance 2 Months After Skipping 80th Birthday Celebration Over Health Struggles

Dolly Parton insists she’s doing well amid concerns about her health struggles.

“I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them,” the country music legend assured fans at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on Friday, March 13.

The public appearance came two months after she skipped her 80th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry due to her ongoing “health challenges.”

The “Jolene” singer added that the death of her husband, Carl Dean, last year has also been difficult, explaining she “just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl” in addition to “a lot of other little things going on.”

Joined onstage by the president of the Dollywood Company, Eugene Naughton, she quipped that some might’ve thought he was her “new husband,” then confirming she’s “not dating anybody.”

The Grammy winner, who turned the big 8-0 on January 19, looked great, wearing a corseted dress with embellishments and her blonde mane styled in a glamorous updo for the occasion.

Despite her recent health complications, which included a kidney infection and “a few procedures,” Parton told People in November 2025 that she isn’t letting her age hold her back.

“People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what?” she said. “Look at all I’ve done in 80 years. I feel like I’m just getting started.”

“I know that sounds stupid, but unless my health gives way, which right now I seem to be doing fine… I think there’s a lot to be said about age,” the country music legend continued. “If you allow yourself to get old, you will. I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about.”

The “9 to 5” hitmaker’s sister Freida Parton, 68, concerned fans when she asked for prayers for Dolly following a string of concert cancelations in an October 2025 Facebook post.

Freida later clarified that she “didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious” in a follow-up post, adding that Dolly had just “been a little under the weather.”