Over her decades-long career, singer Dolly Parton has made her mark as a beloved, influential figure in the country music scene, thriving both in the spotlight and behind the scenes.
Best known for her hits “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” the 78-year-old achieved global stardom but not without the support and comfort of her 58-year-long marriage to husband Carl Dean.
“He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny,” she said. “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.”
Parton said that despite being polar opposites, humor became a common ground for the couple, noting that they never let arguments get out of line.
“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 said.
“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,” she said.
“I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that,’” she continued. “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.”
The couple met outside of a laundromat in 1964, when Parton, then 18, moved to Nashville to pursue her music career.
Dean was a businessman at 21, and the two were instantly attracted to each other. They tied the knot two years later.
Parton says Dean loves music, but aside from that has different interests.
Respecting her dreams and musical journey, Dean made note early on that he had no desire to be in the public eye, including at award shows and events.
The singer recalled an instance in 1967 when she begged her husband to attend the BMI Awards Banquet with her after winning the accolade for song of the year.
“I rented him a tux and, you know, begged him to go, and he did. And he was so uncomfortable the whole night,” she said.
“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.”
Since then, photographs of the pair have rarely emerged, and Dean has only seen his wife perform live once.
Speaking to E! News earlier this year, Parton reaffirmed that spending time apart doesn’t bother her but rather strengthens the relationship overall.
“I’m just saying, anything new gets old, and I think if you just kind of stay together so much, you just nitpick every little thing and notice all that,” she said.
Parton added that simply enjoying each other’s company and respecting boundaries has proven successful for them.
“It’s worked for us because we both do different things and it’s exciting when we are together,” she said. “So the fact that there’s some little space that makes it exciting when you go home.”
Dubbed the “Queen of Country,” Parton and fellow country music pioneers Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette paved the way for female performers in the industry.
