Miley Cyrus has opened up about one of her final conversations with her beloved godmother, Dolly Parton, sharing an intensely personal tribute following the country music legend’s death at age 80.
In her first public statement since Parton’s death, Cyrus said the loss was difficult to put into words and revealed that their final conversations centered on music and transformation.
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” the “Flowers” singer wrote in an emotional Instagram tribute Wednesday.
Cyrus explained that some of her most meaningful memories with Parton were never meant for the public.
“Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts,” she wrote.
But she said she knew exactly what Parton would have wanted her to do with her grief: feel it, turn it into music and keep moving forward.
“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.”
Then came the detail that made the tribute particularly poignant.
“One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis,” Cyrus revealed, adding a butterfly emoji.
“I will always love her and want to make her proud,” the 33-year-old singer continued. “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.”
A bond that began before Miley was born
Parton’s relationship with Cyrus was much more than a friendship between two generations of entertainers.
It began with Miley’s father, Billy Ray Cyrus, who met Parton while touring with her in 1992.
At the time, Billy Ray was opening for Parton, and he later asked the country superstar to become godmother to his daughter, who was born on November 23, 1992.
Parton recalled the moment during a 2009 appearance on “Good Morning America.”
“When she was born, he said, ‘You just have to be her godmother,’ and I said, ‘I accept,’” Parton said.
That relationship would remain an important part of Miley’s life for more than three decades.
Miley and Parton frequently spoke warmly about one another in interviews and appeared together on numerous projects and performances. Their relationship also became familiar to fans through their work on “Hannah Montana,” where Parton appeared alongside her goddaughter.
Cyrus once described Parton as “the most loved person on the planet.”
“She’s left this big mark on the entire world, that all of us are just trying to fill her crystallized shoes, which is never going to happen,” Miley said during a 2021 appearance with Seth Meyers.
Billy Ray Cyrus remembers his own final message from Parton
Miley was not the only member of the Cyrus family mourning Parton.
Billy Ray Cyrus also shared a lengthy tribute after learning of the singer’s death, recalling how deeply she had been woven into his family’s life.
“I have so many moments and memories with Dolly, it’s hard to know where to start,” he wrote.
He remembered growing up watching Parton on television before eventually touring alongside her in 1992.
That tour became the subject of tabloid speculation at the time, with reports claiming the two country stars were having an affair. Billy Ray, who was dating his now-ex-wife Tish Cyrus, recalled being uncomfortable enough to visit Parton’s dressing room and apologize for the stories.
According to Billy Ray, Parton responded in typically playful fashion.
“Honey, this trash sells records!” she told him.
Billy Ray also revealed one of his final interactions with Parton, saying she had recently sent him a heartfelt message.
“Dolly recently sent me a beautiful message, telling me she loved me with her whole heart,” he wrote. “I will always love her in the same way … with my whole heart … and I always will.”
Parton’s death leaves a lasting legacy
Parton’s death was confirmed on August 25 by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who had served as her head of security for more than two decades, following in the role previously held by his father, Larry.
In an emotional Instagram video, Seaver said that although he had imagined how difficult the moment would be, he had not truly understood its weight until Parton died.
He described the announcement as an honor accompanied by profound sadness, while emphasizing that the sadness belonged to those left behind rather than Parton herself.
Seaver also reflected on the extraordinary influence Parton had on generations of performers and aspiring artists.
He said she had opened doors for singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every background and had demonstrated through her own life that possibilities were not limited by the circumstances into which someone was born.
“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you,” he said.
For Cyrus, that legacy is deeply personal. Parton was not simply one of the biggest stars in country music—she was the godmother who had been part of Miley’s life from the very beginning.
Parton’s final days
Parton’s death came after a period in which she had publicly acknowledged dealing with health problems.
According to the reports cited by Page Six, Parton had been hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville on August 20, just days before her death, with kidney and autoimmune issues.
She had also told People on August 21 that she had been dealing with health issues that she had previously neglected while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, before his death in March 2025.
Her health concerns had become increasingly visible over the preceding year.
In September 2025, Parton revealed that she had been dealing with kidney stones and was forced to miss an appearance at Dollywood, her Tennessee theme park.
She subsequently canceled several scheduled appearances, including her Las Vegas residency. Despite those setbacks, she said in May that she was “improving every day.”
Parton made what would become one of her final public appearances in June, when she unexpectedly attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for her Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop.
A private goodbye remembered through music
Parton’s funeral is expected to be a private family service in Nashville, with reports saying arrangements were being made for a small ceremony in the days following her death.
According to Seaver, one of Parton’s final requests was to be laid to rest in a comfortable setting after a lifetime spent wearing elaborate rhinestones and performing beneath bright lights.
For millions of fans, however, Parton’s memory will remain inseparable from the music and the larger legacy she leaves behind.
For Miley Cyrus, that remembrance is even more intimate.
Their final conversation was about music and metamorphosis—a fitting subject for two performers whose careers and lives have been so closely connected.
And as Cyrus mourns the woman she called her “Aunt Dolly,” she says she will carry that bond forward by doing what she believes her godmother would have wanted: feeling the loss, turning it into music and continuing to live in a way that would make Parton proud.