Dolly Parton is regarded as one of the most accomplished female country singers and musicians in the history of the genre, and she has maintained a prominent public profile for many years. Parton has established herself as a legend in the entertainment world thanks to her colorful and effervescent attitude, distinctive vocal tone, and wonderful songwriting talents. She is known as Dolly Parton. The fact that Dolly Parton utilizes her position to contribute to the welfare of others via charitable giving and volunteer work makes her even more lovely than her voice and the lyrics that she writes.
It’s possible that her impoverished upbringing helped shape the kind nature she has now. The “Jolene” singer spent her childhood in a low-income household in Tennessee, where she was one of 12 children. Her rise to fame is a story that has inspired a lot of people’s love and respect because of her humble beginnings. Early on, people began to recognize Parton for her musical abilities, and it wasn’t long before she started creating her own songs. Upon her graduation from high school in 1964, Dolly Parton made the move to Nashville, Tennessee, with the hopes of becoming a famous singer. At the same year that she began what would become a career that would go down in history, she also had the good fortune to cross paths with the man who would become the love of her life, Carl Dean.
Although though they have been married for more than half a century and have a long and fruitful partnership, Dean prefers to remain in the background, which enables Parton to take center stage. The singer has revealed what motivated her to make the choice to keep her love life so secret, yet at the same time she has revealed that she has released a few rare photographs of her spouse here and there.
Continue reading to learn more about Dolly Parton’s marriage and the decision she made to keep it private throughout her life.
During the course of her career, Dolly Parton has provided fans with peeks into her personal life, particularly her relationship with her husband, Dean. When the singer was just 18 years old and had just come to Nashville, she happened to run across Dean, who was then 21 years old, outside of the Wishy-Washy Laundromat. According to Showbiz CheatSheet, the pair has now been married for a total of 55 years and has even said that throughout that time they “had never argued.”
Dean was quoted as saying the following on Entertainment Tonight:
“The very first thing that went into my head was, ‘I’m going to marry that girl.’ The second thing that went into my head was, “Good lord, she’s hot.” And with that, the first day of the rest of my life started. I wouldn’t give up the last half-century for anything on the face of the globe.”
On her official website, Parton also provided her side of the tale, adding, “I was astonished and happy that when he chatted to me, he stared at my face” (a rare thing for me). It seemed as if he was really interested in learning more about me and what I was all about.
The two ultimately went on their first date after Dean had spent the previous week paying a visit to Parton every single day while she was watching her nephew. As soon as Dean realized that she was the one, he took her straight to his childhood home to meet his mother and father. The wedding took place in May of 1966, and ever since then, the pair has been much in love.
Parton made this statement when chatting on Amazon Music with former “American Idol” contestant Gabby Barrett. She referred to marriage as a business. She said that “you had to make the proper judgments for all of the tiny things that come up,” which translates to “you have to be proactive.” Since I never wanted us to say something that would make us feel awful or that we would have to remember, none of us has ever gotten into an argument with the other.
Due to her status as a country music icon, Dolly Parton is always in the public eye; unfortunately, this places her under a constant barrage of scrutiny. A significant portion of it focused on her appearance, as is typical for women working in the entertainment industry. On an episode of the podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant, she went into depth on the topic and said:
“The most common piece of advice that I was offered was to update my appearance by wearing less makeup, cutting my hair shorter, and dressing in a more straightforward manner. They would tell me not to seem to be so dishonest because no one was ever going to take me seriously.”
She continued by saying, “The way I appear now, as well as the way I looked before, was a rural girl’s version of glam… Others believed I had a sloppy appearance, and they asked me to make some adjustments. But, I tried to emulate the style of the local tramp. Everyone agreed that she is worthless and voiced it. And at that moment, in the mind of the young girl that I once was, I concluded, “Well, that’s what I’m going to be when I grow up.” That was very much the appearance I was going for.”
She said that she didn’t believe she have “natural attractiveness. Hence, I simply enjoy my appearance the way it is. Since I have such an outgoing personality on the inside, it’s important that my appearance reflect that quality as well.
Dolly Parton said in the book “Dolly on Dolly: Conversations and Encounters with Dolly Parton” that she has suffered with binge-eating, despite the fact that it is difficult to think that the small singer, who is just 5 feet tall, has issues with her weight.
“I have always been and still am nothing more than a hog. Despite my stature, I have a voracious appetite. I am unable to participate in even the slightest way, “— I quote her. On the other hand, regardless of how much weight Dolly Parton carried, she always had her husband Dean at her side.
She said, “He doesn’t care if I’m obese,” and went on to say, “He was never turned off. He is so naive that he thinks I am the most beautiful and sexiest lady in the whole planet.
It’s because they give each other space that Parton and Dean have been able to keep their relationship going for such a long time and maintain it strong. According to Showbiz CheatSheet, she even quipped that the fact that she has been working so much has probably been beneficial to her marriage. She was referring to the fact that she has been absent so much. Parton said that her spouse is a “loner and a homebody,” while she is more of an extrovert and someone who likes traveling quite a bit more than her husband does. The singer, on the other hand, admits that her and Dean’s diverse hobbies are something she appreciates since it gives them more to speak about.
Although though Parton is a famous megastar, her husband is the kind of person who would rather have a low-key and private existence. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2003, Dolly Parton said that Dean was honest with her about his desire to have a quiet life despite her growing prominence at the beginning of their relationship. Dean is claimed to have indicated that he wanted to do this despite the fact that they were dating. Even though Dean has made it plain that he adored Dolly Parton in the past and still does, and that he wants to show her support, he simply isn’t comfortable going to public events.
Even while the couple may not parade their love for one another in front of other people at public events, it does not imply that they do not still have strong emotions for one another and do not desire to communicate those sentiments with one another on occasion. In November 2021, while Parton and Dean were celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary, she posted a stunning and very uncommon snapshot of the two of them to Instagram. Choose a spouse that will support you as my Carl Dean does! That’s what she stated in the caption, which you can see below. Their undying affection for one another makes it very evident that Parton and Dean’s relationship is one that will last throughout the years.