Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, dead at 82

Carl Dean died in Nashville at the age of 82

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband, died Monday, March 3, according to the country star. He was 82.

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the “Jolene” singer wrote on social media.

“Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, died Monday in Nashville. He was 82. (Dolly Parton Instagram)

Dean will be “laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending,” Parton wrote online. “He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.”

Parton first met Dean at a laundromat when she was 18 and he was 21. They married in 1966.

He was rarely seen by Parton’s side but always played a strong supporting role in his wife’s life.

“He’s always supporting me as long as I don’t try to drag him in on it,” Parton told People in 2019 at the premiere of her Netflix series, “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings.”

“He’s always been my biggest fan behind the scenes, but he’s at home. I don’t think they’re probably showing much of this on TV, and if they do, he might see it.

“But, anyway, he’d never come dragging around. I’d rather bring somebody else with me, you know? He’s never jealous of that either.”

Parton also spoke about the “key” to their love in 2023.

“He loves music, but he’s not in the music business at all, so we have different things to talk about, his world and my world, and we work really well together,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “We have a lot of love and respect for each other, and I think the key to all of it… we both have a crazy, warped sense of humor, so we have a lot of fun.”

Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean were married for 60 years. (Dolly Parton Instagram)

The “9 to 5” singer also recently admitted that the simple things in their relationship kept the couple interested in each other.

“We just enjoy each other,” she told E! News in 2024. “I like to cook. And one of the things that we like to do — not necessarily a date night, we have a lot of date days — we have our little RV, and we like to travel around.

Dolly Parton released her debut album in 1967 and has since released 49 studio albums. (Mark Seliger/Getty Images)

“Going down and get some food, or I’ll make a picnic. And we go down to the river and have a picnic and just kind of ride around and do our little things.”

Parton recently suffered heartache in November when her older brother, David Wilburn Parton, died at his home in Tennessee. He was 82.

David was one of Dolly’s 11 siblings born to Robert and Avie Lee Parton. The couple shared six boys and six girls.