Dolly Parton Opens Up About Her Emotional Affair

From Country Living

After nearly 52 years of marriage, Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean are one of Hollywood's longest-lasting couples. But their enviable relationship has had its challenges.

In the book Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton, published last year, the country icon revealed that she had an "affair of the heart" that had her contemplating suicide. Now, Dolly is opening up about the experience again in an interview with Closer Weekly.

The publication reports that Dolly was dealing with the heartbreak and guilt after the "emotional affair" and "found herself eyeing her gun."

"I looked at it a long time. 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," Dolly said. "The tap-tap of his paws jolted me back to reality, I suddenly froze and I put the gun down."

Then, she turned to prayer. "I kinda believe Popeye was a spiritual messenger from God," she continued. "I don't think I'd have done it, killed myself, but I can't say for sure. Now that I've gone through that terrible moment, I can certainly understand the possibilities, even for someone solid like me, if the pain gets bad enough."

The singer credits her faith for getting her through a number of struggles in life, including poverty as a child, abdominal bleeding which resulted in a partial hysterectomy (meaning she'd never have kids), and depression.

"It was a really bad time," she said. "Sometimes God just has to smack you down," she said of the message from above. "He was almost saying, 'Sit your pretty little ass down because we have to deal with some stuff!'"

Now, it's easier than ever for the star and her famously private partner to talk to God: They have their own chapel on their farm in Brentwood, TN. For their 50th anniversary in 2016, the couple renewed their vows.

"If I had it to do all over, I'd do it all over again, and we did," Parton said in a statement. "I'm dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years."

(h/t: Closer Weekly)

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