Dolly Parton announced the death of her husband, Carl Dean, after six decades together, keeping their love away from the spotlight.
He died at age 82 on Monday, March 3, in Nashville, which Dolly announced on her Instagram with an emotional message.
Despite the Jolene singer’s superstar status, Carl managed to stay out of the spotlight, with Dolly only posting a handful of pictures.
He never attended the glamorous parties and award shows, but when his wife did speak of their life together, it was always with warmth and love.
Dolly, 79, once said they were ‘the perfect partners’, sharing a sense of humour as well as respecting each other.
‘Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,’ she wrote on Instagram of the loss. ‘Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.’
When did Dolly Parton and Carl Dean meet?
Dolly met Carl when she was just 18 years old, having freshly moved to Nashville to pursue her music career in 1964.
The pair were outside the Wishy Washy launderette on the very day that the music icon moved to Tennessee.
‘I’d come to Nashville with dirty clothes,’ she told The New York Times in 1976. ‘I was in such a hurry to get here.
‘After I’d put my clothes in the machine, I started walkin’ down the street, just lookin’ at my new home, and this guy hollered at me, and I waved. Bein’ from the country, I spoke to everybody. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband.’
In 1970, during an interview with The Tennesseean, Dolly confessed she was ‘maybe flirtin’ a little’ but mainly was ‘just being friendly’ after he approached her.
On their 50th anniversary nine years ago, the 9 to 5 legend wrote of that day on her website.
She shared: ‘I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me). He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.’
When did Dolly Parton and Carl Dean get married?
Within two years of meeting, the pair tied the knot in Georgia at an incredibly intimate ceremony.
For the wedding, only Dolly, her soon-to-be-husband, her mother, the preacher, and his wife were in attendance.
Dolly said she ‘likes the way he loves’ her, letting her ‘be free’ to be herself.
‘His understanding of me and the things I do,’ she told Playboy in 1978. ‘The way he lets me be free. And lets me be me.’
The public had never even seen Carl when the pair married, setting the precedent for his lifelong ability to dodge cameras.
It wasn’t until 1979 that a reporter finally saw the elusive man who had stolen the country icon’s heart.
In a profile for Cosmopolitan, the journalist described him as ‘tall and good looking’, comparable to a young Gregory Peck.
They revealed: ‘He has a way of moving his angular body so that he seems to come toward you in sections. He is a fan of television and nightclub comic Steve Martin.’
Did Dolly Parton and Carl Dean have children?
The couple never had children of their own but are said to have helped raise some of Dolly’s younger siblings as she is one of 12 kids.
In 2017, the Islands in the Stream singer released a children’s album, I Believe in You, as well as launching the Imagination Library, which provides free books to children.
While on The Today Show, she addressed the fact the couple had not had children, calling it God’s plan.
‘God has a plan for everything,’ she said. ‘I think it probably was his plan for me not to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine. And they are now.’
She also previously told Billboard: ‘Now that Carl and I are older, we often say, “Aren’t you glad we didn’t have kids? Now we don’t have kids to worry about”.’
What has Dolly Parton said about her marriage?
While Carl was never drawn to the spotlight, Dolly mentioned him frequently over the years.
In an interview with Playgirl in the early 80s, she insisted they ‘never’ argue but ‘sometimes get a little touchy’ when tired or aggravated.
She added: ‘We never put ourselves in a situation where we bicker back and forth.’
However, 40 years later, her tune had changed slightly as she confessed on Table Manners With Jessie Ware that they were ‘sick’ of each other.
‘I’m sure he’s sick of me,’ she joked. ‘My husband and I have been together for 57 years, been married 54, and I’m sick of him.’
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight the same year, she stated: ‘A lot of people have thought that through the years because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all. It’s just not who he is.
‘He’s, like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace, and he’s right about that.’
Three years ago, the couple were still as loved up as ever, with Dolly dressing up as a Playboy bunny on his birthday.
‘I made him breakfast and [ran] around in that for a little while,’ she revealed to US Weekly in 2022.
She shared: ‘You know, most people can keep a marriage [going strong] if you make a little effort. … We’re the perfect partners. We both have [a] great sense of humor.
‘We’re able to, like, solve any problems and any situation, making a joke about it and not letting it get too heavy, but we respect each other and we like each other. We lucked up, let’s put it that way.’
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