Real-Life Love
Dolly Parton Reveals Rare Details About Her Private Marriage With Husband Carl Dean
Legendary country singer Dolly Parton was married to her husband, Carl Dean, for nearly 60 years, but they were notoriously private about their romance. The couple never stepped out for public appearance, preferring to keep their relationship to themselves.
Four months after Dean’s death, Parton opened up about her beloved husband and disclosed new details about her life at home with her one and only love. Turns out, Parton and Dean had a wonderful relationship that was drama-free.
“We got along great because we didn’t have nothing to fight over,” Parton told Khloé Kardashian on the Khloé in Wonderland podcast. “That was the thing with us, we were so good for each other because he’s a total loner. But we could just be in the house all day and say two or three words — didn’t matter. Or we could talk all afternoon and lay in bed, talk at night in the dark.”
The one and only @DollyParton 🤍 We talked about God, glam, growing up, and how she’s stayed true to herself through it all. Watch now on @X pic.twitter.com/dYMogWnKuJ
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) July 9, 2025
The “Jolene” singer admitted that she and her husband “were different people.” However, they both shared a love of music. She added, “He did not want a bunch of people around him except me. Of course he had friends, but he was also the same way. He’d rather be at the barn, be on the farm all day, and if he was gonna go sell a loader or buy a loader or have somebody come work on one of his trucks or tractors, he’d have to let people in.”
Despite their differences, Parton and Dean’s personalities meshed well. “We were just so different, but we were so similar,” she said. “We were perfect, as far as the temperature in the house. We didn’t fight over that ‘cause we both were comfortable at the same thing. Just so many things we were compatible about, and we just got along great.”
Parton and Dean first met at a laundromat when she was 18 years old. They married on May 30, 1966. Through the decades, Parton became one of the most famous women on the planet, but her husband never stepped into the spotlight. “I didn’t ever expose him to that,” Parton said. “But he was very proud of me.”
The couple lived a wonderful life together in Tennessee. Even though he wasn’t a fan of fame, Dean did have to deal with Parton’s fans every now and then. “He’d be out mowing the yard on the tractor, and the fans would come by to see our house, and they’d say, ‘Are you Dolly Parton’s husband?’ And he’d say, ‘Do I look like I’d be Dolly Parton’s husband?’ He’d have on his old straw hat and his coat,” she recalled.
