Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers were longtime collaborators and friends for decades, but they never dated, and in an interview in 2017, they explained why not.
Did Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Ever Date?
No.
“I’m a believer that tension is better if you keep it than if you satisfy it,” Rogers joked during an interview on the Today show. “And then secondly, she said no to me.”
“I’m not his type,” Parton retorted before sharing that the real reason the two never got together was that he felt more like family to her than a romantic partner.
“Nah. You know what, we were almost like brother and sister. And it would almost be like incest. So we just never went there.”
Of course, both singers were also married to other people.
In an interview with Dan Rather in 2014, Rogers pointed out, “I met her husband, first of all. And I was married to Marianne through that whole time” that they were working together often.
“But what we did is we flirted with each other for thirty years, and it was much more electric. I think once you consummate a relationship like that, it loses something. And she and I both believe that theory.”
When Did Kenny Rogers Die?
Rogers died on March 20, 2000, at the age of 81, surrounded by his loved ones at home. A statement attributed his death to natural causes.
“You never know how much you love somebody until they’re gone,” Parton wrote in a Facebook post on March 21.
“I’ve had so many wonderful years and wonderful times with my friend Kenny, but above all the music and the success I loved him as a wonderful man and a true friend. So you be safe with God and just know that I will always love you.”
“I loved Kenny with all my heart,” Parton added in a poignant video she shared alongside her statement. “My heart’s broken, and a big ol’ chunk of it has gone with him today.”
Parton died on Tuesday (Aug. 26) at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
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