Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s reclusive husband of 58 years, dies at 82

Dolly Parton announced the heartbreaking news on social media, stating, “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.”

Dean, known for his private nature, remained out of the spotlight throughout Parton’s legendary career. The couple met in 1964 at a Nashville laundromat when Parton was just 18 and Dean was 21. They married two years later, on May 30, 1966, in a quiet ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.

“My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,'” Dean once recalled in a rare interview. “My second thought was, ‘Lord, she’s good lookin.’ And that was the day my life began.”

Photo: Dolly Parton

Despite Parton’s global fame, Dean kept his distance from the public eye, preferring a quiet life running an asphalt-laying business in Nashville. Parton once shared, “He doesn’t particularly care about being around anybody but me. He just always asked me to leave him out of all this.”

Dean also served as the inspiration for Parton’s hit song Jolenewhich was based on a flirtatious bank teller who had a crush on him.

Photo: Dolly Parton

Reflecting on their 60 years together, Parton wrote, “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

The family has requested privacy during this difficult time.