Miley Cyrus mourned the loss of her “Aunt Dolly” Parton Wednesday just one day following the announcement of her death.
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Cyrus shared that one of her last conversations with her godmother was about music and metamorphosis. The “Flowers” singer added that she knows Parton would want her to feel the loss and then put it into a song to continue to be strong.
“What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong,” Cyrus wrote. “I have an angel by my side. I always have.”
“I will always love her and want to make her proud.”
The country music legend became close to Billy Ray Cyrus when he toured with her while promoting his 1992 single, “Achy Breaky Heart” and has been close to Miley since her birth. Billy Ray even asked Parton to be Miley’s godmother.
The “Jolene” singer even guest starred on “Hannah Montana” as Miley Stewart’s Aunt Dolly on the Disney Channel show. Cyrus joked that the only reason the 20th anniversary special happened was because of advice from her godmother.
“I learned this terrible habit — but I actually think it was good advice — from Dolly,” she said in an interview with Variety. “She told me that if you want something to happen, promote it before it exists. Then no one can say no. So I just started promoting a ‘Hannah Montana’ 20th-anniversary special that literally did not exist.”
Miley Cyrus and Parton co-hosted NBC’s “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” to ring in 2023. They performed duets of two of their greatest ballads: Cyrus’ ”Wrecking Ball” and Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
“But you know, she’s like me. She’s finding her own space, she’s finding her own things, and she’ll always land on her feet,” Parton said of Cyrus in a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair. “I don’t always have to agree with everything she does, but it ain’t my business. That’s her life. I’m just her fairy godmother, and I love her.”
Read the full tribute below:
The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share. Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.
What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis. 🦋
I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We’re in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things.
