Dolly Parton's husband Carl Dean dies after 'many wonderful years together'

Dolly Parton has announced that her husband Carl Dean has died at the age of 82.

The singer married her long-time love in a small ceremony in Georgia in May 1966 and although he was by her side during her career, Carl rarely shared the spotlight.

Carl instead lived a quiet life away from the cameras, with Dolly recently saying that her husband 'loves' music but is 'not the least bit interested in being in it.'

A statement announcing Carl's death read: 'Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82.

'He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He was survived by his siblings, Sandra and Donnie. The family has asked for privacy during this difficult time.'

Dolly added: ‘Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.’

Carl and Dolly met just one day after she moved to Nashville, when the young singer walked into a laundromat.

'I went to a Laundromat looking for anything but love. I had just left two boyfriends back home,' she told Interview in 1984.

Dean also recalled their meeting in a rare interview, saying: 'My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl. My second thought was, "Lord she's good lookin'".'

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Although Carl avoided the spotlight, Dolly has chatted about their marriage over the years and happily revealed that they're opposites.

'He's quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny…we have a lot of fun,' she previously said. 'Anytime [there is] too much tension going on, either one of us can find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far. We never fought back and forth.'

Carl was also behind the inspiration of one of Dolly's biggest hits, Jolene, with her penning the song about a bank teller who flirted with her husband.

She told the Glastonbury crowd: 'I wrote that years ago when my husband… was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be.

'I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry.'

Speaking on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde Podcast in 2024, Dolly recalled how she convinced Carl to accompany her to the BMI Awards in 1967 when she won BMI Song of the Year.

After the event, he told her: '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.'

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