Dolly Parton's suffering appeared to begin once her husband Carl Thomas Dean passed.
Despite a year of health struggles and a brief battle with cancer, Nikki Lund, who knew the country music legend through her longtime manager, Donny Nozell, believes Dolly died from a "broken heart."
While speaking to Page Six, she said the singer endured "a lot of loss in a short amount of time" following the death of her late husband, who passed away in March 2025, and her brother, Coy "Denver" Parton, who died last month.
Nikki said her loved ones saw a change in her spirit over the last year.
"Normally, she works all the time because she loves it. She's just a busy bee. She's always busy. And for the last year, she took a step back from the public eye and wanted to spend more time at home. She wasn't around anyone as much for the last year," she explained.

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Not just a singer-songwriter, the businesswoman Dolly Parton, who died earlier this week, had a slew of projects in the pipeline, including a biopic, documentary, avatar show, museum, travel stop for truckers, coffee brand and dog treats.
"Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life and loved knowing her work brought people joy," her longtime manager Danny Nozell told US media including Hollywood Reporter.
"If you see unreleased music, products, books, experiences and campaigns launched through official Dolly Parton channels, you can have confidence in knowing that she placed her personal stamp on it," he added.
Parton died peacefully in hospital in Nashville on 25 August after a "brief battle with cancer", after being admitted four days before her death with kidney and autoimmune issues.
Parton's distinctive silhouette can be seen on the fence at Doggy Parton's dog park at Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tennessee [Getty Images]

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Dolly Parton's team is ***** uring fans of the beloved country icon that her legacy will continue throughout the countless projects that were already in motion before her death.
"Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy. Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come," her longtime manager Danny Nozell said in a statement. "As the leader of the team responsible for overseeing her legacy, we will ensure the many dreams she had yet to fulfill are brought to life. Many projects were in various stages of development, and we want to be transparent with her fans about this fact."
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#dolly #legacy #fans

Dolly Parton's team is revealing some of the many projects that were in development at the time of her death Tuesday at the age of 80, ensuring fans they will continue to bring them to life.
"Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy. Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come," her longtime manager Danny Nozell said in a statement.
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