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When Dolly Parton began her marriage to Carl Dean, she once dreamed of something that seemed so simple: holding a child of her own in her arms.
But then endometriosis and serious health problems closed the door on that dream, leaving Dolly with an emptiness she carried for many years.
Then a kind of miracle happened when Miley Cyrus came into her life.
Dolly became the young girlโs godmother and gradually came to love Miley like a daughter.
A woman who could not have children ultimately found motherhood in a way she may never have expected.
That is why, when Dolly passed away, for Miley, it was not simply the loss of a legend, It was the pain of losing a second mother.
In an emotional farewell, Miley wrote that she would keep moving forward because she knew she would always have an angel by her side, Aunt Dolly.
And while the entire world was still mourning, Miley did something that moved many people: She stepped into a recording studio in Los Angeles to give one final gift to the woman who had loved her for more than three decades.
The story of their relationship began before Miley Cyrus was born, with the friendship between Dolly Parton and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus.
Their friendship began in the early 1990s, around the time Billy Ray Cyrus exploded onto the country music scene with Breaky Heart.
At the time, Billy Ray had the opportunity to tour with Dolly, including serving as the opening act for some of her shows.
Dolly later recalled that they just became good friends because Billy Ray was a Kentucky boy while she came from Tennessee.
The two shared many similarities in their roots, culture and love of country music.
They did more than tour together.
Dolly and Billy Ray also worked directly with each other in music.
Dolly wrote the song Romeo and invited Billy Ray to appear in its music video.