There’s not much about Dolly Parton that we don’t know.
The fabulous blonde country music superstar is famous for being an open book, having shared what feels like every part of herself and career with the public.
But there’s a hugely important part of her life that Dolly expertly kept under wraps – her incredible 58-year marriage to husband Craig Dean, who sadly passed away in March 2025.
“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,” Dolly shared in a statement.
The famously low-key couple were never photographed together and never gave joint interviews, but Dolly did give us a few glimpses into their gorgeous relationship over the years.
The couple even renewed their wedding vows to mark their 50th wedding anniversary in 2016 – so cute!
Dolly and Carl avoid the limelight and stay away from the cameras. (Image: dollyparton.com)
Dolly Parton, 78, previously said that Carl has “always been so supportive” and was the one constant in her life.
“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!” she told People.
A marriage as long as Dolly and Carl’s was is pretty much unheard of in Hollywood, where some celebs are in-and-out of relationships every few months.
Keep scrolling to read everything you need to know about their relationship.
THEY HAD A QUICK, LOW-KEY WEDDING
In true unassuming Dolly and Carl style, the couple met in a laundromat in Tennessee in 1964.
In 1966, the couple were engaged to be married, but Dolly’s record company were worried that a wedding would get in the way of her musical career and wanted to delay the nuptials.
But of course, no one was doing to tell Dolly Parton what she could and couldn’t do. So they eloped and had a quiet wedding with just Dolly, Carl, the preacher and her mother present.
“We’d already sent out invitations and so I thought, “I ain’t waiting!”‘ she told People.
“We went that same weekend to Ringgold, Georgia in a little church. I had a little white dress and little flowers, and my mum went with me.”
The only public statement Carl has ever made was about the first time he set eyes on Dolly.
“My first thought was I’m gonna marry that girl,” he said in a rare statement 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.”
While the 9 To 5 singer still uses her maiden name professionally, she did take Carl’s surname when they married and has previously said that her passport reads “Dolly Parton Dean,” and sometimes uses the Dean surname when signing contracts.
The couple were married in 1966, just as Dolly’s career was taking off. (Image: dollyparton.com)
THEY WERE COMPLETE OPPOSITES
They say opposites attract – and that was absolutely true for Dolly and Carl.
“I married a really good man, a guy that’s completely different from me,” Parton told Parade in 2015.
“He’s not in show business. He’s not resentful of any of that. He loves to hear about the things I do. I love to hear about the things he does. So we enjoy each other’s company. We get along good.”
She also told People: “We’re completely opposite, but that’s what makes it fun. I never know what he’s gonna say or do. He’s always surprising me.”
In December 2024, Dolly offered some rare insight into her marriage, where she explained that the reason they worked so well is because they were so different.
“He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny,” she revealed on Bunnie Xo’s podcast Dumb Blonde. “Oh, 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.
“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 explained.
“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. I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that.’ 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.”
You don’t get through 52 years in Hollywood without fending off a few rumours! (Image: dollyparton.com)
THEY KEPT A LOW PROFILE
Soon after they were married, Dolly’s fame suddenly skyrocketed.
Along with fame comes a million industry events. One evening, Dolly brought Carl along to his first media event – and it turned out to also be the last function the pair would attend together.
“Dolly, I want you to have everything you want, and I’m happy for you, but don’t you ever ask me to go to another one of them dang things again!” Carl told Dolly.
And the couple stuck to that rule. There were very few photographs of them together and Carl never accompanied his wife on the red carpet at award shows or media events.
Plus, Dolly never posted about him on social media.
“My husband is a loner,” Dolly said of Dean. “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.”
They loved their low-key lifestyle away from the drama of Hollywood.
“We like to get in our little RV and just be simple,” Dolly told People. “I love to read, I love to cook, I love to be with my husband. I put on my comfy clothes—I call them my baby clothes—and we just relax.”
They’re the ultimate couple goals! (Image: dollyparton.com)
THEY RENEWED THEIR WEDDING VOWS
To mark their 50th wedding anniversary in 2016, the couple “got married again” in a celebration that was very different to their first wedding back in 1966.
“I’ll have a beautiful wedding dress, ’cause I didn’t have a big, long wedding dress when we got married and we’ve got a suit for him, so we’re going to dress up and take a bunch of pictures,” Dolly told People.
“If I had it to do all over, I’d do it all over again, and we did. I’m dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years.”
Dumplin stars Danielle Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston with Dolly Parton at the film’s premiere. (Image: Getty)
WHAT WAS THEIR SECRET?
So what was the secret to Dolly and Carl’s long-lasting marriage?
“The fact that we like each other, we respect each other, we’ve always had a good time,” she said on Good Morning Britain. “He’s crazy and I’m crazy. We laugh a lot and I think that’s been one of the most precious parts of our relationship.”
You know the saying “distance makes the heart grow fonder”? Dolly reckons there’s absolutely truth in that!
“I always joke and laugh when people ask me what’s the key to my long marriage and lasting love. I always say ‘Stay gone!’ and there’s a lot of truth to that. I travel a lot, but we really enjoy each other when we’re together and the little things we do,” she told Country Living.
When they did spend time together, it was doing something low key, like getting fast food!
“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,” Dolly said.
“We know a few little places we can go without being bothered. He only likes to go places where he can be comfortable!”
But above all, it was about kindness and respect.
“You gotta kinda respect and like each other and forgive a lot of stuff and accept a lot of things,” Dolly told US Weekly.
“Love each other and keep your vows.”
