For both father and daughter, the memories offer a more intimate picture of Parton beyond the rhinestones, music and larger-than-life public image.
Billy Ray Cyrus Remembers the Moment Their Friendship Changed
Billy Ray’s connection with Parton stretched back decades.
Before he ever knew her personally, she was already part of his childhood. Like millions of Americans, he grew up seeing Parton on television and hearing her music.
“Like every little boy, I grew up loving Dolly Parton,” he wrote in a tribute after her death.
But their friendship took on a more personal dimension in 1992, when Billy Ray’s own career was exploding.
At the time, tabloids had begun circulating rumors that he and Parton were romantically involved.
Billy Ray remembered walking into her dressing room intending to apologize for the unwanted attention.
Parton’s reaction was characteristically playful.
According to Billy Ray, she looked at him, winked and said:
“Honey, this trash sells records!”
Instead of allowing gossip to create tension between them, Parton apparently dismissed it with humor.
The moment stayed with Billy Ray for more than three decades.
Dolly’s Final Message to Billy Ray
Against that history, the last message Parton sent him became particularly meaningful after her death.
Billy Ray revealed that she had recently reached out with a simple but deeply affectionate message.
“Dolly recently sent me a beautiful message, telling me she loved me with her whole heart.”
He did not reveal exactly when she sent the message or provide further details about their exchange.
Instead, he responded publicly with words that echoed the title of one of Parton’s most famous songs.
“I will always love her in the same way … with my whole heart … and I always will.”
For Billy Ray, it was one final expression of a friendship that had survived decades of fame, rumors and enormous changes in both of their lives.
But Parton’s relationship with the Cyrus family extended far beyond him.
She shared an especially close bond with Miley Cyrus.
Miley Cyrus Says Their Most Sacred Memories Will Remain Private
Miley’s tribute was considerably more intimate.
Parton had been her godmother for most of her life, although Miley frequently referred to her simply as “Aunt Dolly.”
Following Parton’s death, Miley explained that many of the memories she treasured most would remain between them.
“Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.”
Still, she revealed one poignant detail.
One of their final conversations had centered on music and metamorphosis.
Miley accompanied the thought with a butterfly emoji — an image traditionally associated with transformation and change.
After Parton’s death, that conversation inevitably carried new meaning.
Miley also said she believed she knew exactly what her godmother would expect her to do with her grief: feel it, transform it into music and continue moving forward.
“I have an angel by my side. I always have.”
She expressed sympathy for Parton’s family, friends and millions of fans, adding that she believed people would continue seeing reminders of Dolly in “all of the most beautiful things.”
Dolly Became Much More Than Miley’s Godmother
Their relationship began because of Parton’s friendship with Billy Ray, but it eventually developed into a bond entirely its own.
When Miley became famous as a teenager through Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, Parton watched closely as her goddaughter experienced many of the same pressures she herself had faced.
Miley was reportedly instrumental in bringing Parton onto Hannah Montana, where she appropriately played “Aunt Dolly.”
For Parton, the experience provided an opportunity to spend time with her goddaughter while also introducing herself to an entirely new generation.
She once described watching Miley work with the pride of a mother.
“I was watching her like a proud mama, thinking you go, you little thing, I’m so proud of you.”
That protective instinct became particularly visible as Miley grew older.
When the former Disney star began dramatically changing her image and faced intense criticism for provocative performances, Parton resisted joining the chorus telling her what she should or shouldn’t do.
Instead, she defended Miley’s right to discover who she wanted to become.
Parton described her as talented and intelligent and suggested that Miley was simply finding her own wings.
Miley Says Dolly Taught Her How to Treat People
Some of Parton’s most lasting lessons had little to do with singing.
Miley has credited her godmother with teaching her to remain grounded and to treat everyone on a production with respect, regardless of their position.
Parton’s own career was built around that reputation.
Despite becoming one of entertainment’s biggest stars, she was known for remembering the people working behind the scenes and treating them with warmth.
Those qualities became part of what Miley admired most about her.
Parton also largely avoided imposing career advice unless Miley actually requested it. Their relationship was based less on instruction than example.
Even their disagreements could be affectionate.
Miley once recalled telling Parton that she was considering becoming a brunette.
Parton apparently reacted dramatically:
“You can’t do that. You are me.”
Miley remained blonde.
Their Musical Relationship Eventually Came Full Circle
As Miley matured into an established artist herself, their relationship evolved from mentor and goddaughter into something closer to creative equals.
They performed together numerous times and eventually recorded a version of Miley’s “Wrecking Ball.”
Miley described having Parton sing one of her songs as an honor.
Parton responded with equally enthusiastic praise, saying that although she was proud of the music they had created together, she was even prouder of their relationship.
They also co-hosted Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party and repeatedly demonstrated the easy chemistry that came from knowing one another away from the cameras.
Their affection sometimes sounded almost too perfect, Parton acknowledged.
But she insisted it wasn’t manufactured for television.
Their relationship, she said, was “truly real.”
The Children Dolly Never Had
Parton never became a biological mother.
She and her husband, Carl Dean, who were married for nearly six decades before his death in March 2025, had once imagined having children.
Parton even recalled wondering whether their children would inherit Dean’s height or her smaller stature, and the couple had reportedly considered the name Carla for a daughter.
Her life ultimately took another path.
Parton experienced serious gynecological health problems and underwent a partial hysterectomy in the 1980s, ending the possibility of becoming pregnant.
She later spoke about the emotional toll that period took on her.
Eventually, however, Parton came to interpret her childlessness through the lens of her faith.
She believed that perhaps she had been given the freedom to devote herself to a much wider family.
That philosophy became particularly meaningful through her Imagination Library, which has provided free books to children around the world.
And in her personal life, some of that maternal affection clearly found a home in Miley.
From a Tennessee Cabin to an International Icon
Parton’s extraordinary journey made those relationships even more remarkable.
She was born into a family of 12 children and grew up in a small cabin in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains without many of the conveniences most Americans took for granted.
Long before stadiums and television specials, she imagined herself performing while standing on her family’s porch with homemade objects serving as pretend microphones.
Music surrounded her childhood.
Her mother, Avie Lee, helped nurture her creativity, while Parton credited her father, Robert Lee, with teaching her the value of hard work.
By 13, she had appeared at the Grand Ole Opry.
From there came Nashville, songwriting, international fame, movies, businesses, Dollywood and one of the most recognizable careers in American entertainment.
Yet some of the memories now emerging after her death have little to do with awards or record sales.
They are memories of dressing-room jokes.
Private messages.
Conversations about music.
A godmother watching proudly from the sidelines.
And one final message telling an old friend that she loved him “with her whole heart.”
For Billy Ray Cyrus, those words became Parton’s final expression of a friendship that had lasted more than 30 years.
For Miley, the goodbye is more private. Most of what she shared with “Aunt Dolly” will remain, as she put it, “behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.”
But one lesson appears certain to continue.
Parton spent years encouraging Miley to find her own wings.
Now Miley says she will carry on knowing she has an angel beside her.
