Dolly Parton’s Longtime Husband Carl Thomas Dean Dead at 82: ‘Thank You for Your Prayers’

Dolly Parton announced the death of her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, in an Instagram post on Monday, March 3. He was 82 years old.

“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,” a post on the singer’s Instagram account said.

“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 post said. “The family asks for privacy during this difficult time.”

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Dolly, 79, and Carl got married in 1966. Their love story first began after they met outside of a laundromat in Nashville.

“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me). He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about,” she once said about their first time meeting, per her official website.

Through the years, Dolly and Carl’s relationship was always kept rather private and close to her heart.

“Carl has never been in the limelight and all, never wanted to be in it. He don’t like it,” Dolly said in November 2023 on Apple Music’s “What Would Dolly Do? Radio.” “He went to one thing with me early on when we first married to a BMI Song of the Year [event], and he came out there taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that and said, ‘Don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going.'”

She continued, “I never asked him and he never did.”

After several decades of marriage, Dolly did reveal that she and Carl decided to renew their vows in 2016.

“I got all dressed up in the most beautiful gown you’ve ever seen and dressed that husband of mine up. He looked like a handsome dude out of Hollywood,” she told Rolling Stone in August 2016. “We had a few family and friends around. We didn’t plan anything big at all because we didn’t want any kind of strain, any kind of tension, any kind of commotion, so we planned it cleverly and carefully. We just had a simple little ceremony at our chapel at our place. We just had just a few people who needed to be there to make sure they got the pictures and the few things that we needed.”

She reflected on Carl’s desire to continue stay out of the spotlight after announcing their vow renewal.

“My husband is a loner,” Dolly told People in May 2016. “He doesn’t particularly care about being around anybody but me. He’s just always asked me to leave him out of all this. He does not like all the hullabaloo.” And yet, she adds, “he’s always been supportive. He’s like a brother and a father and a friend and a husband and a lover – all of those things to me. I think he’s kind of proud that we’ve been in it this long!”