In the crazy world of entertainment, it’s rare to find a marriage that is actually able to stand the test of time. That’s what makes Dolly Parton’s 58 year marriage to Carl Dean so special!
So how did they manage to pull it off? Dolly spills the tea!
Parton And Dean Avoid Arguments
Earlier this month, Parton went on the podcast of the country music star Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie XO. There, she revealed how she and Dean avoid arguments.
“He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny,” said Parton, 78. “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.”
“We never fought back and forth,” she continued. “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.”
Related: Reba McEntire Admits She’s Never Met Her Close Friend Dolly Parton’s Reclusive Husband
Parton And Dean’s History
Parton and Dean have been married since 1966. They met at a laundromat on Parton’s first day in Nashville, Tennessee, if you can believe that! At the time, Parton was 18 and Dean was 21.
Though Parton is one of the most famous women on Earth, Dean has always stayed out of the spotlight. It turns out that this is exactly how Dean has wanted it to be.
“He loves music, but he’s not the least bit interested in being in it,” Parton explained. “And he told me that right up front.”
“I begged him to go with me in ‘67. We’d got married in ‘66,” she added. “So, that’s when I won the first award for the BMI song of the year (“Put it Off Until Tomorrow.”). And I rented him a tux and, you know, begged him to go, and he did. And, oh, he was so uncomfortable the whole night.”
As soon as they got home, Dean “started pulling off stuff.”
“He said, ‘Look, now I want you to do everything you want to do, and I wish you the best, but don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going.’ And he never did,” she recalled. “So we just kind of have that respect, and I respected that because I didn’t know he was gonna be that uneasy, but he doesn’t even like to go out to, you know, to big dinners or anything like that.”
Related: Dolly Parton, 78, Reveals The ‘One Thing’ That Could Make Her Quit Country Music – ‘If My Husband…’
Parton And Dean’s Differences Bring Them Closer
It turns out that Parton and Dean’s differences have only brought them closer.
“He was a homebody, and that worked well for us,” she said. “I don’t know if anybody out there goes by astrology or pays attention to that. But he’s Cancer, and I’m Capricorn, and those are compatible signs. He loved to go places, if we were going to drive cross-country or if we had planned a thing. But, boy, he could never wait to get home.”
“He wanted to be around home, and I’m a gypsy by nature,” she concluded. “I just love to go and love to see what else is out there. But, I think… that’s worked well for us.”
Parton and Dean will be celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary in May of 2025. We’d like to wish them many years of happiness to come!
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