On the first day of her new life in Nashville, Dolly Parton met “a good-lookin’ guy” driving a Chevrolet at the laundromat. That man was Carl Dean, and she married him two years later. They spent nearly six decades together before his death in March 2025 at age 82. Although the “Jolene” songstress, 79, hasn’t needed an introduction in a long time, her relationship (and husband) remained largely out of the public eye. That was by design, and Dolly recently opened up about the decision to keep her marriage between herself and Dean.

Dolly Parton Belonged to Both the Public and Her Husband

In contrast to Dolly Parton’s life in the spotlight, her husband, Carl Dean, “never did an interview in his life,” the 10-time CMA Award winner told Khloe Kardashian during an appearance this week on the Khloe in Wonderland podcast.

“In fact, he’d be out mowing the yard on the tractor and the fans would come by to see our house and they’d say… ‘Are you Dolly Parton’s husband?’ He’d say, “Do I look like I’d be Dolly Parton’s husband?” the country music icon said. “You know, he’d have on his old straw hat and his coat, you know, his old work clothes and all.”

Dean much preferred the farm to the red carpet, which became apparent when he accompanied his wife to a 1966 awards ceremony after she won BMI’s Song of the Year for “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.”

“He rented a tuxedo. Didn’t want to do it. I begged him to go,” Dolly recalled. “And then when we were leaving that, he started taking that off, taking off all the jacket. And he said, ‘Now. I want you to do great, but don’t you ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things ’cause I ain’t going.’ And he never did. And I knew right then that I’m just going to keep him private as best I can. Never ask him to do nothing. And certainly he’s not going to volunteer, right?”

Although she undoubtedly loves her fans, Dolly Parton would, most often, simply rather be at home.

“And that was the thing with us, you know. We were so good for each other because he’s a total loner,” she told Kardashian. “But we could just be in the house all day and say two or three words, didn’t matter. Or we could talk all afternoon and lay in bed, talk at night, you know, in the dark.”