Dolly Parton’s Sister on Why Family Won’t Share Singer’s Specific Cancer Diagnosis

Stella Parton is opening up about her sister Dolly, who passed away last month following a brief battle with cancer.

In a new interview with “CBS Mornings” anchor Gayle King, Stella explained why Dolly kept her diagnosis private.

“Well, Dolly did not want anybody to tell that because Dolly could not bear negative things and she would not have wanted her fans worried about it,” she said. “She didn’t want a lot of the family worried about it. Some of us knew, the ones that were closer, but not every relative.”

Stella said overall, Dolly “did not want people sad.”

She also explained why the family has not shared Dolly’s specific cancer diagnosis.

“Well, that was her business,” Stella said.

While Dolly did not ask then to keep it private, Stella said, “She didn’t tell us that we could say it… ‘So, out of respect for her... it’s not my business to tell her business.”

Stella later shared, “I don’t miss her struggling in pain,” adding that at the end of Dolly’s life, “I know she was at peace.”

The 77-year-old added, “She knew where she was going. She wasn’t going anywhere bad. She was going to be with Mom and Daddy. She was prepared.”

In another part of the interview, Stella shocked Gayle when she revealed she never saw her sister without her signature makeup “after she got to be Dolly Parton” even when she would “come to spend the night.”

“She would sleep in her makeup when she comes spend the night with me,” Stella said.

Stella also talked about how Dolly’s husband late Carl Dean reacted to all the glitz and glam surrounding Dolly’s public life.

“He didn't care about that at all,” she said. “He would have rather her be at the house with her hair up in a ponytail, and barefooted, cooking in the kitchen, and just, you know, messing around the house… That's what he would have preferred… He loved her enough to let her be what she was.”