In an October 7, 2025, Facebook post, Dolly’s sister Freida Parton asked fans to pray for the singer, saying she “hasn’t been feeling her best lately.”
After the update stirred public concern, Freida clarified she “simply asked for prayers” because she believed “so strongly in the power of prayer.” Their other sister, Stella, later added the songwriter was seeking treatment only for kidney stones.
Then, on October 8, 2025, Dolly took to Instagram to tell fans she was not dead yet.
“Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here,” she added while on set to shoot commercials for the Grand Ole Opry. “Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate. I appreciate your prayers, ’cause I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything. But I want you to know that I’m okay.”
In the same Instagram video, Dolly said she had begun undergoing necessary medical procedures at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after neglecting her health following the death of her husband, Carl Dean.
“There were a lot of rumors flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” she said. “So anyhow, that’s what I wanted to say, and I was not ready to die yet. I didn’t think God was through with me, and I wasn’t done working. So I loved you for caring, and I asked you to keep praying for me.”