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13
“A Legacy Of Love”: Fans Gush Over Dolly Parton’s 60-Year Romance After Her Husband Passes Away
“I would love to grow old with [Carl]. If he should die first, I may never marry again,” Dolly Parton said in 1981.
Decades after she made the solemn statement, her words now take on a deeper meaning as the music icon mourns the death of husband Carl Thomas Dean.
Dolly announced her longtime husband’s death at the age of 82 on March 3. Following his passing, she also posted a message about their “many wonderful years.”
Highlights
- Dolly Parton announced the death of her longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean this week.
- “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the country singer said.
- The pair met at a laundromat on the very first day the country music icon moved to Nashville to fulfill her dreams.
- For one of their first dates, she recalled pulling up to a drive-in window and getting McDonald’s.
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Dolly Parton announced the death of her longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean this week
Image credits: dollyparton
Carl will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with loved ones. He is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the country singer said in a social media post.
“Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” she continued. “Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Image credits: dollyparton
Despite being married to America’s sweetheart, Carl largely stayed out of the spotlight and focused on his asphalt-paving business in Nashville over the years.
Meanwhile, his wife went on to become one of the most famous singers of all time.
Their 60-year story of love, support, and romance has fans gushing
Image credits: dollyparton
Dolly was 18 when she moved to Nashville in 1964 to fulfill her music dreams.
On her very first day in the new city, the singer met 21-year-old Carl outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat.
“You’re gonna get sunburnt out here, little lady!” he called out to her while driving by in his white Chevy pickup truck.
The pair struck up a conversation, and Dolly said he was “genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
Image credits: SevierFun
“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” she said on her website.
Carl described the encounter as “the day my life began.”
“My first thought was, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,’” he said, as quoted by ET.
Dolly welcomed him to drop by her Uncle Bill’s house the next day, as she would be babysitting her nephew while her uncle and aunt were at work.
The pair met at a laundromat on the very first day the country music icon moved to Nashville to fulfill her dreams
Image credits: Katherine Bomboy/NBC
“He came up every day that week and we set out on the porch,” she told the New York Times in 1976. “I wouldn’t even take him in the house.”
On a day when she didn’t have to babysit her nephew, Carl drove her to his house and introduced her to his parents.
“He knew right the minute he saw me that that’s the one he wanted,” the country queen said.
Image credits: LaurenRock
For one of their first dates, she recalled pulling up to a drive-in window and getting McDonald’s.
Dolly reflected on how she had a clear purpose on moving to Nashville and “hadn’t intended to marry.” And Carl “understood” this.
“Nobody could make me quit,” she told the New York Times. “He never tried to make me give it up. And he’s proud of me, but he’s not necessarily a fan. He don’t particularly like to hear me sing.”
They tied the knot in 1966 with only her mother, the pastor, and his wife as witnesses
Image credits: dollyparton.com
Two years into their relationship, the couple exchanged wedding vows on May 30, 1966, in Ringgold, Georgia.
They chose the city lying 150 miles southeast of Nashville to escape any attention from Tennessee newspapers.
“My mother made me a little white dress and a little bouquet,” Dolly was quoted telling CMT.
She was determined not to get married in a courthouse. So they found a little Baptist church in town and got married with only her mother, the pastor, and his wife as witnesses.
Carl accompanied his wife to an awards show in 1967 and said he was “uncomfortable the whole night”
“To him, I’m his star.” 🥹 We’re honoring Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean’s passing with this look back on their relationship. pic.twitter.com/hayPOCO9RA
— E! News (@enews) March 4, 2025
Image credits: enews
Over the years, Carl has stayed out of the public eye, especially after Dolly once convinced him to accompany her on one glitzy night.
In 1967, Dolly rented him a tux and begged him to join her at the BMI Awards.
They returned home that night with her award for the BMI Song of the Year. But Carl admitted to her that he was “uncomfortable the whole night.”
“He said, ‘Look, now I want you to do everything you want to do, and 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,’” she said on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast in December.
“And he never did,” she added.
Nevertheless, they went on to enjoy a 60-year love story before Carl passed away.
The singer revealed that her hit song ‘Jolene’ was based on a red-haired woman who had a “terrible crush” on her husband
Image credits: dollyparton.com
The Oscar nominee revealed in the past that her 1973 hit Jolene was based on a “little bit of truth” about her husband and a red-haired woman at the local bank.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” she told NPR in 2008. “And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention.”
It became a “running joke” between her and Carl, she added.
“I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money,’” she continued. “So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”
Image credits: RussOnPolitics
Five decades into their marriage, the couple celebrated their bond by renewing their vows in a private Nashville ceremony on their 50th wedding anniversary.
The Oscar nominee recalled wearing the “most beautiful gown” for the intimate affair, while her husband dressed like “a handsome dude of Hollywood.”
It was a “simple little ceremony at our chapel at our place,” she told Rolling Stone in 2016.
“If I had it to do all over, I’d do it all over again, and we did,” she added. “I’m dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years. Wish us luck.”
The longtime sweethearts renewed their vows on their 50th wedding anniversary
Image credits: dollyparton.com
Dolly revealed that one of the secrets to her long-lasting marriage was not being “in each other’s face all the time.”
“We have different interests, but yet we have the things we love to do together,” she toldET in 2022.
“So it was meant to be, I think,” she added. “He was the one I was supposed to have and vice versa.”
“He was the one I was supposed to have,” Dolly said about her late husband
Image credits: dollyparton
As Dolly mourns the loss of her late husband, fans are gushing over the couple’s romance and sharing in the singer’s grief.
“She fiercely protected that love,” one said, while another wrote, “I hope he will be waiting for her in heaven!”
“Heartbreaking news, their love story was one for the ages. Carl is now her guardian angel,” another fan said.
“I can’t imagine being married to someone for 60 years and then losing them,” one said. “Gosh how hard that must be.”
Another wrote, “WHAT a blessing they have been to each other. They leave a legacy of love and devotion. Bless you all!”
“60 years with the same person is a life,” one social media user remarked
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Julia Cargile 9 months ago
Dolly, I am so sorry about your precious Carl. May he watch over you until you meet again.
Spocks's Mom 9 months ago
Awww. Relationship goals! I'm glad they had such a long and happy marriage. I used to live right down the street from the church they got married at in Ringgold, GA. That town used to roll up the sidewalks at 6pm.
Grumpy Old Broad 9 months ago
THIS is the kind of celebrity stuff I want to read more about. Deep, true, long-term love. Nobody gives a rats a*s about the fake Kardashians or how much skin Bianca Censori is showing today.
Julia Cargile 9 months ago
Dolly, I am so sorry about your precious Carl. May he watch over you until you meet again.
Spocks's Mom 9 months ago
Awww. Relationship goals! I'm glad they had such a long and happy marriage. I used to live right down the street from the church they got married at in Ringgold, GA. That town used to roll up the sidewalks at 6pm.
Grumpy Old Broad 9 months ago
THIS is the kind of celebrity stuff I want to read more about. Deep, true, long-term love. Nobody gives a rats a*s about the fake Kardashians or how much skin Bianca Censori is showing today.
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