Dolly Parton Was ‘Committed’ to Late Husband Carl Thomas Dean for Nearly 60 Years: Inside Private Marriage

Carl Was Successful

Although he was married to one of country music’s most accomplished singers, Carl was quite successful in his own right. At the time of his death was retired from running an asphalt road-paving business in Nashville, according to reports.

Carl Knew Dolly Was ‘The One’

“My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,'” Carl told ET in 2016. “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.”

Carl Had a Great Sense of Humor

“He makes me laugh all the time,” the I Am A Rainbow author told Closer Weekly and other reporters at the premiere of her Netflix series, Heartstrings, in October 2019. “We both have a warped sense of humor. It is one of the things that has kept us together all of this time.”

He Was Very Low-Key

Carl was so uninterested in living life in the spotlight, he was rarely ever seen at Hollywood events. Dolly once dished her husband wasn’t even that big of a fan of going out on fancy dates.

“When I met my husband, he wanted to take me out to dinner. He pulled up to the drive-in window and got our food at McDonald’s,” she told People in 2018. “We know a few little places we can go without being bothered. He only likes to go places where he can be comfortable!”

He Supported Dolly No Matter What

“He would never come to things like this because he hates the commotion, but he is proud of me” the loving wife once gushed at the event in Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Dolly and Carl Were Madly in Love

The singer revealed she gave her beau a sexy birthday surprise by dressing up in a bunny costume similar to the one she posed in for Playboy magazine decades ago.

“Remember how I said some time back that I was going to pose on Playboy magazine when I was 75? Well, I’m 75 and they don’t have a magazine anymore, but my husband always loved the original cover of Playboy, so I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy,” she said in a July 2021 Instagram video while all dressed up in her sultry ensemble.

“He still thinks I’m a hot chick after 57 years, and I’m not going to try to talk him out of that,” she adorably continued. “I hope he agrees, what do you think?”

A Rare Instagram Shout-Out

In November 2021, Dolly posted a sweet shout-out to Carl with a throwback photo on her Instagram account. The pic did have a huge twist, though: Carl’s shirt was Photoshopped to promote Dolly’s current collection of merchandise. The T-shirt with Dolly’s face on it became available in her online store for $35.

“Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does!” the songstress captioned the post.

Fans were freaking out in the comments section at the rare photo of the couple. Dolly, who was beaming from ear to ear in the snap, also posted it on her Instagram Story, along with a link to her merch collection.

A Throwback Thanksgiving

After years of keeping the ultra-private Carl off her social media, Dolly shared a throwback photo of the two as a young married couple on November 25, 2021. “Happy #Thanksgiving from me and mine to you and yours,” Dolly captioned the photo.