Dolly Parton made a conscious choice to prioritize her career over having kids. And she doesn’t regret it one bit.
In a recent interview with Saga magazine, she opened up about her decision. “I haven’t missed [having kids] like I thought I might,” she admitted.
You see, when you’re young and in love, you naturally think about starting a family. But for Dolly, the desire to have kids wasn’t a burning one. She was more focused on her career, her music, and her travels.
The country superstar, who’s now 77, added, “If I’d had kids, I’d have stayed home with them, I’m sure, and worried myself to death about them.” She’s been married to Carl Dean since 1966, and she believes bringing kids into today’s society, with “everything that’s going on,” wouldn’t sit right with her.
In a separate interview with Mojo magazine last September, she shared a similar sentiment. “I’m almost glad I never had children,” she stated bluntly.
Why? She worries too much about her little nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. She and her husband, they think of themselves as each other’s child. “He’s my only child, and I’m his only child,” she explained.
Parton also expressed her concern about the state of the world. She doesn’t see it “making any progress,” which further comforts her in her decision. “Nobody’s willing to listen to anybody else,” she lamented. “Everybody already knows everything.”
Despite not having kids of her own, Dolly has touched the lives of millions of children worldwide through her Imagination Library project. She feels a deep connection to all the kids she’s helped, which has given kids around the world nearly 227 million free books as of this writing.
“I always say God didn’t let me have children so that all kids could be mine,” she proudly noted to Saga magazine. Interestingly, her goddaughter Miley Cyrus has also expressed that she doesn’t feel the need to have children.
While Parton may not be doling out parenting advice, she has spoken about the longevity of her marriage a few times. Last December, she shared why she thinks she and Dean have lasted through the years.
“I like it when people say, ‘How did it last so long?’ I say, ‘It’s stay going,’” she told ET Canada. “He’s not in the business, so we have different interests, but yet we have the things we love to do together.”
Parton continued, “So, it was meant to be, I think. He was the one I was supposed to have and vice versa.”