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Parton\u2019s musical talents bec ame known early on, and before long, she began writing her own songs. After graduating from high school in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to become a star. Coincidentally, not only did she kick off what would be a legendary career that year, but she also met the love of her life \u2013 her future husband, Carl Dean.<\/p>\n
According to a post\u00a0shared\u00a0on her official website to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, Parton and Dean tied the knot on May 30, 1966. The couple, along with the country musician\u2019s mother, went to Ringgold, Georgia, where they had a small ceremony.<\/p>\n
They went on to have a very happy romance for the next few decades, but they never had any children. As of 2024, Parton and Dean have been married for 58 years.<\/p>\n
Dolly Parton\u00a0and Carl Dean married in 1966 after meeting at a laundromat when he was 21 and she was just 18. Although they have been married for a long time, the musician keeps her romance with her husband completely private, with Dean almost never seen at public events or talking to the press.<\/p>\n As reported by\u00a0The Independent, in a 2022 episode of \u201cThe Kelleigh Bannen Show,\u201d Parton shared her thoughts about keeping her relationship away from the public eye. She noted that early on in her career, her mom told her that she should \u201calways keep something back for you,\u201d and she shouldn\u2019t \u201cgive it all away.\u201d The wise words of her mother stuck with her, and she applied them in her married life.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known how to keep my husband private\u2026 It\u2019s just natural to me to protect the things and the people I love and to protect my own privacy,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Many people would think the couple is a great example of a loving marriage, and Parton finally revealed the secret to a long romance in an\u00a0interview\u00a0with E! News program\u00a0Daily Pop in 2022. It included dressing her best for her husband.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to dress up for Carl\u2026 Every day, I put on some makeup and fix my hair because I think, \u2018Well, the whole world, I\u2019m out here and everybody else sees me all dressed up, and I\u2019m not going to just kind of go home and just flop on him,\u2019\u201d she\u00a0said, as reported by The Independent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n She added that it\u2019s important to look as good as she can because, for her, it \u201ckind of helps keep things spicy.<\/p>\n Parton is one of country music\u2019s most iconic stars and the face of a\u00a0$650 million empire, which includes her theme park Dollywood. One might assume Parton is constantly on the road, but she revealed in an interview that she prefers to stay at home to be closer to her husband.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t tour anymore\u2026 I\u2019ve got so many business things I\u2019m doing. And my husband and I are getting older \u2014 he\u2019s a little older than I am \u2014 and I kind of need to be with him,\u201d Parton said, as reported by\u00a0Marie Claire.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n With Parton being such an industry presence, it\u2019s remarkable to see her husband of almost 60 years keep such a low profile. Parton said this had been their agreement from the very beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve kept (my marriage) very personal and sacred and I try to keep my husband out of the business. That\u2019s not what he chose to do, he just happened to love me and I love him enough to not expose him to it,\u201d she\u00a0told\u00a0Fox News.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n His absence had even led some parties to believe that he was entirely made up, which Parton appeared to understand.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all. It\u2019s just not who he is. He\u2019s like a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he\u2019d never get a minute\u2019s peace and he\u2019s right about that,\u201d Parton\u00a0told\u00a0ET, adding she always \u201ctried to keep him out of the limelight\u201d as he \u201cdidn\u2019t choose this world.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Alongside their similar tastes and disdain for parties, Parton also cited her absence due to work as a possible factor in keeping their marriage strong, saying \u201cwe\u2019re not in each other\u2019s faces all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n On Valentine\u2019s Day 2022 though, Parton gave fans a glimpse of her elusive husband by\u00a0sharing\u00a0a photo of him kissing her cheek on social media. Prior to that, she had also posted a photo of them in their younger days, with Dean towering above her petite frame.<\/p>\n \u201cFind you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does!\u201d she\u00a0captioned\u00a0the photo.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n These days, Dean is likely to be pottering about his and Parton\u2019s sprawling farm in Brentwood, Tennessee, after retiring from his paving firm.<\/p>\n \u201cListen, he\u2019s a homebody and doesn\u2019t like to go out in public. We have a farm and he\u2019s more than happy keeping the fields mowed, the barns painted and working away on his farm equipment,\u201d Parton\u00a0explained.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n She\u00a0said\u00a0they often spend time doing \u201cour little things together,\u201d which include traveling in their RV.<\/p>\n \u201cWe drive through these little drive-through restaurants. We sightsee all of Tennessee and Kentucky, the areas that we can get back home from at night. Sometimes we\u2019ll stay over at a Days Inn (motel) where we can just pull up and sneak me in. We don\u2019t care, as long as the bed\u2019s clean and there\u2019s a bathroom,\u201d she divulged.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While Parton and Dean\u2019s love story may not be the most conventional, it has lasted the test of time, which Parton attributes to the simple fact that \u201che loves me and I love him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe understands me, he gets me. He\u2019s very secure within himself. He\u2019s never been jealous. It\u2019s a great compliment to me,\u201d she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Describing him as her \u201cbest friend,\u201d Parton also said that she \u201cmarried a really good man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not resentful of any of that. He loves to hear about the things I do. I love to hear about the things he does. So we enjoy each other\u2019s company. We get along good.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![](\"\/\/image.apost.com\/media\/articletranslation\/2024\/05\/31\/09\/63b8f0cbbe447444b499fd4d164751ff_500x1.jpg\")
Dolly Parton (1984), (IMAGO\/ZUMA Wire)<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"\/\/image.apost.com\/media\/articletranslation\/2024\/05\/31\/09\/5b8c82cadd3f8eb73b6b73bd4ee68c38_500x1.jpg\")
Dolly Parton (2016), (IMAGO\/Runway Manhattan)<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"\/\/image.apost.com\/media\/articletranslation\/2024\/05\/31\/09\/50e4c0d646db783fd11bdbb2e0aedf9f_500x1.jpg\")
Dolly Parton\u2019s Nashville home (2008), (IMAGO\/Avalon.red)<\/span><\/p>\n