Dolly Parton's husband dies after nearly 60 years of marriage

Dolly Parton's longtime husband Carl Dean has died at the age of 82. The cause of his death is yet to be known.

Parton, 79, announced his death via Instagram on Monday, March 3.

"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 is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie," the post read.

"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. The family asks for privacy during this difficult time," Parton concluded.

Dean, who married the country icon two years after they first met in 1964, mostly remained away from the spotlight and avoided public events together throughout their marriage. Parton also rarely ever shared photos of him. In fact, even at their wedding, the only witnesses were her mother, the pastor, and his wife.

However, the Jolene songstress often gushed about their marriage in interviews and spilled the beans on the success of their over half-a-century-long marriage.

“He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny,” she said on the podcast Dumb Blonde in December 2024. “Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other [and] we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun.”

The country singer did not deny having any disagreements but insisted the couple always find a way out without getting harsh.

“Anytime [there’s] too much tension going on, either one of us can like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far,” she explained. 

“We never fought back and forth. And I’m glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing. I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that.’ I couldn’t bear to think that he’d say something I couldn’t take… because I’m a very sensitive person toward other people and myself.”

Dean also spoke of their marriage once in a rare interview where he recalled meeting Parton for the first time.

"My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl,' " Dean told Entertainment Tonight in 2016 in a rare public statement. "My second thought was, 'Lord she’s good lookin.' And that was the day my life began. I wouldn't trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth."

As for Parton, she "hadn't intended to marry.”

“I hadn't intended to find anybody, but you know how love goes. And he understood that I had to do what I had come to Nashville to do,”  she told The New York Times in 1976.

“I'd come to Nashville with dirty clothes,” she told the publication. “I was in such a hurry to get here. And after I'd put my clothes in the machine, I started walkin’ down the street, just lookin’ at my new home, and this guy hollered at me, and I waved. Bein’ from the country, I spoke to everybody. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband.”

She continued, “I wouldn't go out with him. I mean, that was somethin’ we was taught. You gotta know somebody or they may take you on a back road and kill you. But I said, ‘You're welcome to come up to the house tomorrow because I'm babysittin’ my little nephew.’ ” Dean came over every day that week, and the first time they went out together, he took her to meet his parents.

Parton and Dean did not have any children.