The Jolene hitmaker has opened up about not having children and how their decision contributed to her great success.

Dolly Parton, 74, has been married to Carl Dean, 78, for more than 50 years but they do not have children.

“I’ve made sacrifices but I believe that I know what I’m supposed to do,” she told Oprah Winfrey.

“But you’ve got to make the sacrifice. Since I had no kids, and my husband was pretty independent, I had freedom,” Dolly explained. “So I think a big part of my whole success is the fact that I was free to work.”

The singer also said she feels she was not meant to have kids.

“I didn’t have children because I believe that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like the (book gifting program) Imagination Library,” she expressed.

“If I hadn’t had the freedom to work I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done and I wouldn’t be in the position to do all the things I’m doing.”

Speaking of her husband, Dolly said: “A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all.

“It’s just not who he is. He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”

Dolly also did her best to keep her husband out of the spotlight. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said: “I’ve always respected and appreciated that in him and I’ve always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can.

“He said, ‘I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.’ And we do and we have. We’ve been together 56 years, married 54.”

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