Dolly Parton mourning the loss of husband Carl Dean: How they met and their unconventional marriage

It has only been two months since 2025 started, but we have already lost too many iconic stars and personalities. Gene Hackman's death is still under investigation, Michelle Trachtenberg also left behind many unanswered questions when she passed away at only 39.

Most recently, it has been announced that Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, 82, died on Monday, March 3, in Nashville.

The two had been married for almost 60 years, having married in a secret ceremony when they were 20. Carl inspired Dolly’s iconic song Jolene, after a bank clerk flirted with him.

Dolly released a statement on Instagram announcing her husband’s death:

Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away on March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.

The singer also shared a heartfelt message saying that she and Carl ‘spent many wonderful years together’ and that words ‘can't do justice to the love we shared’.

Dolly Parton met Carl Dean in 1964

The two first met in 1964 when Dolly was 18 and Carl was 21. As per the Daily Star, Dolly moved from Tennessee to Nashville shortly after graduating high school. She was doing her washing at a local laundromat when she met Carl.

Carl had been driving in his truck but stopped to talk to Dolly, telling her she would get sunburnt in her ‘revealing dress’. In an interview, Carl admitted he already knew he wanted to marry her.

My first thought was, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl’. My second thought was, ‘Lord, she's good lookin’’. And that was the day my life began.

Just two years later, the couple tied the knot despite Dolly’s record company requesting she wait. The ceremony was small, with the singer’s mother, the preacher, and his wife attending.

The ceremony was held out of state so that the local newspapers wouldn’t report it.

Dolly revealed that her mother ‘made’ her wear a white dress for her wedding. They then found a Baptist church, tied the knot, and took a few pictures outside.

Despite being very private about their lives, Dolly Parton has spoken about her relationship with Carl several times over the years.

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean had an ‘open’ marriage

According to Dolly Parton, as explained in her 2017 memoir, neither she nor Carl got jealous when the one flirted with other people, as it’s ‘an open relationship’. She does add that their relationship wasn’t sexually open, just open to flirting.

He knows I flirt. He flirts too. Yes, it's an open relationship, but not sexually, and I would kill him if I thought he was doing that. He would shoot me too. At the end of the day, we love each other madly.

In an interview with E! News, the country singer revealed how she kept the spark alive after so many years together. She said that she continued to ‘dress up’ for Carl as ‘nobody wants to make out with a slouch’.

Despite their open marriage, Dolly Parton admitted she had an ‘affair of the heart’. The singer said it was an ‘emotional affair’ and it left her with a ‘broken heart’, as per Mirror.

Like many relationships, the two went through ups and downs, nonetheless, the couple were married for almost 60 years, and in 2016, they renewed their vows for their 50th anniversary. Dolly and Carl never had children.

Read more:

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Sources used:

Sky News: ‘Dolly Parton's husband of nearly 60 years dies’

Daily Star: ‘Dolly Parton and Carl Dean's long marriage – a love story with 'arrests' and 'affairs'

Mirror: ‘Inside Dolly Parton's 'open' marriage to husband of 57 years, Carl Dean’