Dolly Parton Announces That Her Husband Of 58 Years, Carl Dean, Has Died

Dolly Parton has shared that her husband of almost 60 years, Carl Dean, has died.

Posting on Instagram, the country music superstar shared that Carl died in Nashville on Monday, at the age of 82.

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the I Will Always Love You singer said. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

The post added that Carl will be “laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending”, and that “the family has asked for privacy during this difficult time”.

In his lifetime, Carl ran a successful asphalt paving company in Nashville, and famously preferred to live his life out of the spotlight.

The pair tied the knot in 1966, and in that time, Dolly claimed that he only ever accompanied her to one music industry event.

“Carl has never been in the limelight at all, never wanted to be in it,” she told Apple Music in 2023. “He don’t like it. 

“He went to one thing with me early on, when we first married, to a BMI Song of the Year [event]. 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.’ I never asked him and he never did.”

However, Dolly always made it clear that even if her fans didn’t know who her husband was, that was not a reflection of their relationship or marriage.

“I always joke and laugh when people ask me what’s the key to my long marriage and lasting love,” Dolly told People magazine in 2018. “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.”

The two also renewed their wedding vows for their 50th anniversary in 2016, with Dolly telling Rolling Stone: “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.

“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 fun with it.”

Carl is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.