Dolly Parton has shared the reason why her husband of nearly six decades opts out of attending public events with her.
In Hollywood, enduring love stories are rare, making it surprising that the ‘Jolene’ star has been wed to Carl Dean since 1966.
While Parton is a celebrated figure often seen at high-profile events and red carpets, her husband rarely joins her in public.
Back in 1967, the 11-time Grammy winner rented a tuxedo and urged Dean to accompany her to the BMI Awards where she was up for Song of the Year.
Despite winning the award, Dean expressed his discomfort with the glitz and glamour of such occasions.
During a conversation on the Dumb Blonde podcast, the 78-year-old singer recounted: “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,’ and he never did.”
Parton expected this stance from her husband, even early in their marriage, as he shunned the limelight.
“He loves music, but he’s not the least bit interested in being in it,” she noted. “And he told me that right up front.”
Their relationship has endured over the years, with the couple renewing their vows at their Nashville residence in 2016.
It appears that Parton and Dean are quite different, extending beyond just their perspectives on fame. “He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny… we have a lot of fun,” she added.
“Anytime [there is] 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.”
Their paths first crossed in 1964 outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee, when Parton was 18 and Dean was 21. They met when Dean drove by in his pickup truck, caught sight of Parton outside, and ‘hollered’ at her, as she recounted to The New York Times in 1976.
As Parton climbed the ladder to stardom, her husband offered his support from behind the scenes while running a road-paving business.
Decades later, they continue to keep their relationship vibrant, with Parton disclosing in 2022 that she still takes the time to dress up for Dean at home.
“Every day, I put on some makeup and fix my hair because I think, ‘Well, the whole world, I’m out here and everybody else sees me all dressed up, and I’m not going to just kind of go home and just flop on him,’” she said to E! News.
So there you have it—the romance is still very much alive!