Dolly Parton Shared Why She Never Plays Matchmaker: ‘That’s Too Much of a Responsibility’
Given Dolly Parton’s romantic songs, decades-long marriage, and general appreciation for all things warm and fuzzy, it’s clear that the singer loves love. Despite cherishing the emotion, she said she doesn’t want to set up anyone she knows. She explained why she thinks matchmaking is a dangerous game.
Dolly Parton loves love
When speaking about Valentine’s Day in 2021, Parton shared her love for all things love. She asserted her conviction that love will always conquer hate.
“I definitely think love would conquer hate if we had enough love, and we certainly need to start making sure that we do,” she said in a video on her official website. “We got a lot to conquer these days, don’t you think? There’s a lot of hate, but there’s a lot of love out there.”
Parton has also been married to her husband Carl Dean for over 50 years. On their fiftieth wedding anniversary, the couple renewed their vows in a more Dolly-ized wedding than their first one. According to her official website, Parton wrote about her feelings for Dean in a song called “From Here to the Moon and Back.”
“From here to the moon and back/ Who else in this world will love you like that?/ Love everlasting, I promise you that/ From here to the moon and back.”
She doesn’t want to set up potential couples
Despite all this, Parton shared that she does not want to be a matchmaker for anyone she knows. Though she likes romance, she doesn’t want to be the person who sets up a failed relationship.
“I would not consider being a matchmaker because that’s too much of a responsibility,” she explained. “Because if it don’t work out, no matter what happened, it’s gonna always be your fault.”
She shared that she would worry that matchmaking could damage her relationships with her friends.
“You’re gonna lose your friends doing that,” she said. “So no. I just let love find itself wherever it does.”
Dolly Parton shared her tips for a long-lasting relationship
If Parton ever did set up a new couple, she should offer them some of the tips for a healthy relationship that she’s followed. In 2022, Parton will celebrate 56 years of marriage to Dean. She shared that she still tries to keep their relationship fresh.
“I like to dress up for Carl,” she told E! News, per Vanity Fair. “Every day, I put on some makeup and fix my hair because I think, ‘Well, the whole world, I’m out here and everybody else sees me all dressed up, and I’m not going to just kind of go home and just flop on him.’ Nobody wants to make out with a slouch! It’s important to me that I look as good as I can. I think it kind of helps keep things spicy.”
She also joked that distance makes the heart grow fonder.
“Our joke about the fact, when people ask me why it’s lasted this long, I say, ‘Because I stay gone.’ And there’s a lot of truth in that — the fact that we’re not in each other’s faces all the time,” Parton told ET. “But we do have a great respect and admiration for each other. We both have a great sense of humor. So, we have a lot of fun.”
