Dolly Parton Reports Her Husband Carl Thomas Dean Has Died

Carl Thomas Dean, Dolly Parton’s reclusive husband, died at the age of 82, according to her announcement.

In a statement posted on Instagram on Monday, the 79-year-old country music artist acknowledged his death, stating that he passed away in Nashville on March 3.

Carl and I had a lot of amazing years together, she remarked. The love we had for more than 60 years is beyond words. I appreciate your condolences and prayers.

Carl, who is known for avoiding the spotlight, will be buried in a private ceremony with his close family. He is survived by his siblings, Sandra and Donnie.

Since 1966, he and Dolly have been wed.

Carl was well-known throughout the world, but she mostly stayed out of the spotlight.

On Bunnie Xo’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast in 2024, she discussed his need for seclusion, saying: “He loves music, but he’s not the least bit interested in being in it.”

Dolly also recounted an early event in their marriage when she won BMI Song of the Year in 1967 and persuaded him to go to an awards show.

“I wish you the best, but don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going,” Carl informed her, despite the victory.

Dolly has talked about their partnership a lot and attributes its durability to their similar sense of humor.

“I’m loud and he’s quiet, and we’re funny—we have a lot of fun,” she remarked.

Parton was eighteen when she and Carl first met in 1964 at a Nashville laundry.

In “Dolly Parton: In Her Own Words,” she subsequently discussed the experience, stating: “I went outside and saw this attractive man driving by the Wishy-Washy laundry. He also stopped to the side. Thus, we began communicating, and two years later, we were married.

Carl has influenced Parton’s work, notably her 1973 smash song “Jolene,” despite avoiding the spotlight.

She claimed to have a “dreadful crush on my husband” in an interview with NPR in 2008. And because she gave him so much attention, he simply enjoyed visiting the bank.

“I wrote that years ago when my husband… was spending a little more time with ‘Jolene’ than I thought he should be,” she continued years later, during the Glastonbury festival. And I stopped that. I quickly got rid of that redhead chick.

Parton claimed that even though Carl and she never went to events together, they managed to keep their romance going.