The country music legend Dolly Parton is in mourning after her beloved husband Carl Dean, who she was married to for nearly 60 years, died last Monday. He was 82 years-old.
In the wake of Dean’s tragic passing, a touching birthday gift that Parton gave him a few years ago has resurfaced. Indeed, the gift says it all about the loving and fun relationship that they shared.
Parton Recreates Playboy Cover
Back in 2021, for Dean’s 79th birthday, Parton recreated her iconic 1978 Playboy magazine cover for him. In order to do this, the “Jolene” singer wore bunny ears and a black bustier with matching gloves and a pink bowtie.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m dressed like this. Well, it’s for my husband’s birthday,” Parton began in a video posted to social media. “Remember some time back I said I was gonna pose on Playboy magazine when I’m 75? Well, I’m 75 and they don’t have a magazine anymore, but my husband always loved the original cover of Playboy.”
“I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy,” she continued at the time. “He still thinks I’m a hot chick after 57 years and I’m not gonna try to talk him out of that.”
Parton went on to say that she “had a cover made of the new Dolly.” She jokingly added that she was “kind of a little butterball” in her original Playboy cover.
“Well, I’m string cheese now. But he’ll probably be thinking I’m cream cheese, I hope,” she said of Dean as she winked off camera.
At the end of the video, a photo was shown of Parton surprising Dean with her 1978 Playboy cover framed alongside a recreation of it.
“You think Playboy ought to pay for at least the photoshoot? I do!” Parton concluded.
Check out that cute video for yourself below.
Dean Passes Away
Dean’s death was announced on Parton’s official Instagram page on Tuesday.
“Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82,” the post read. “He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.”
Parton, 79, then added a brief statement of her own.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she said. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Parton And Dean’s Marriage
Parton and Dean had been married since 1966. Despite being married to one of the most famous women in the world, Dean always preferred to stay out of the spotlight. This was just fine with Parton, who described him as a “homebody.”
“He’s kind of a homebody,” Parton once told Fox News. “He loves working on the farm, he loves working on his tractors and his trucks and all that. He was in asphalt paving for years. And then he went in kind of doing some real estate, but he didn’t want to be in the spotlight.”
Though Dean didn’t have any interest in fame himself, Parton clarified that he was always “very proud of and for me. So it’s all good. But I laugh. But, you know, he said, ‘That’s for you, not me.'”
It’s clear that Parton and Dean truly were very much in love. Please join us in saying a prayer for Parton as she continues to mourn him!
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