Dolly Parton Said Her Best Friend ‘Paid Dearly for Our Friendship’
Dolly Parton and her best friend, Judy Ogle, have known each other for most of their lives. Parton sees Ogle as family and is protective over her. Because of this, she found it difficult to watch as Ogle became involved with a possessive partner. Parton shared why their friendship became a point of issue in Ogle’s relationship.
Dolly Parton said her best friend’s partner was jealous of their friendship
In the 1980s, Parton began spending more time in Los Angeles to work on her blooming film career. Ogle followed her to the city, renting an apartment next door to Parton. She lived with her partner, who had recently gotten out of the army.
“Judy’s lover had gotten out of the army by now, and they moved in together in an apartment next to mine,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “It seemed all really cozy and familylike. It was, for a while.”
Before long, though, Ogle and her partner began having relationship problems.
“Judy began having problems with her live-in,” she wrote. “Because I felt so protective of her, that was a problem for me. I felt the way Judy must have felt during the worst parts of my Porter Wagoner period. I thought she deserved a whole lot better than the way she was being treated.”
Parton had issues with Ogle’s partner, and they felt similarly about her. She explained that the closeness of her and Ogle’s friendship became a problem in her romantic relationship.
“She paid dearly for our friendship,” Parton wrote. “Her lover was jealous of the time she spent with me, her devotion to me and my career.”
She said this became a very difficult period for her
Ogle wanted to make her relationship work, so Parton took a step back from their friendship. She felt as though she’d been left behind by many of the people in her life, not just Ogle.
“Now I was the one who had to pull back,” she wrote. “Gregg and Susie were tight, and he was also dating one of my backup singers, Anita Ball, another wonderful and special friend. Everything was going well for them. Judy was a wreck but apparently determined to make a go of her relationship. For the first time in many years, I felt alone.”
Her despair over her friendships began to manifest itself physically.
“I started to grieve a lot and eat a lot. I gained weight,” she wrote, adding, “I started to have female problems, nerves and stress mostly.”
Upon reflection, she said this was one of the most difficult periods of her life.
Dolly Parton and her best friend have known each other since they were children
Part of the reason Ogle did so much to support Parton’s career was because they’d been friends since childhood.
“She was an absolutely withdrawn little girl with ragged clothes, chapped lips, and skinned knees, with a piece of a rubber band taken from an old pair of underwear, what we used to call ‘bloomer rubber,’ in her hair,” Parton wrote. “I suppose most people wouldn’t have noticed her, but I was drawn to her because of her big green cat-curious eyes. I was also fascinated by her hair, the color of a new copper penny.”
They bonded and have been close friends ever since.
