Dolly Parton is mourning the loss of her husband, Carl Dean. The two married on May 30, 1966, after dating for over two years. Dean passed away on March 3, 2025. He was 82 years old when he died. Keep reading to learn more about the couple’s sweet — and lengthy — love story.

How They Met:

Parto and Dean met outside of a laundromat. Parton was just 18 when they met, and she had just arrived in Nashville.

“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” Parton recalled (via BBC). “He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”

Dean rarely did interviews. But in 2016, he opened up about their relationship, remembering when he saw her for the first time.

“My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,’ ” Dean told Entertainment Tonight in 2016. “My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good looking.’ And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth.”

Parton and Dean’s Wedding:

Parton and Dean got married in Ringgold, Georgia, instead of Nashville, for one very good reason: Parton’s rising career. At the time, her record label, Monument Records, asked her to delay getting married for a year, since she was still a year away from releasing her debut, Hello, I’m Dolly album. Undeterred, Parton and Dean decided to elope in another state, so the nuptials wouldn’t be announced in the local papers.

“It was just my mother and Carl and me,” Parton told CMT. “We went across the state line to Ringgold, Georgia. My mother made me a little white dress and a little bouquet and a little Bible. But I said, ‘I can’t get married in a courthouse because I’ll never feel married.’ So we found a little Baptist church in town, and went up to Pastor Don Duvall and said, ‘Would you marry us?’ We got pictures on the steps right outside the church.”

While Parton was happy with their decision, she did miss out on a lavish wedding. Fortunately, for the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary in 2016, Parton was able to finally have the wedding dress she always dreamed about.

“I missed the big long wedding dress the first time, so this time, we went all out,” she remembered. “I wore a Steve Summers dress. Carl looked great in his suit. Then we went down to Ringgold again and spent the night in our camper, went out to the lake for a few days. I finally got to have the wedding that I never got to have.”

Why They Never Had Children:

Parton is one of 12 children, and a doting aunt to her many nieces and nephews, although she and Dean never had children of their own.

“Early on, when my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids,” Parton told Billboard. “We weren’t doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did, but it didn’t turn out that way. Now I say, ‘God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine.’ I’m very close to my family — five of my younger brothers and sisters lived with me and Carl for many years — and we’re very close to our nieces and nephews.”

Why Dean Stayed Out of the Spotlight:

Parton spent almost their entire marriage as one of country music’s biggest superstars, with Dean proudly cheering her on from home. The two learned early on that he was uncomfortable with being at industry events, and agreed that she would go without him.

“He does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Parton said (via People). “It’s just not who he is. He’s like a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”

“I’ve always respected and appreciated that in him, and I’ve always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can,” she added. “He said, ‘I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.’ And we do and we have.”

Their Simple Lifestyle:

Parton’s successful career could have afforded them anything they wanted, but they preferred to keep life simple. When she wasn’t on the road, the two liked to stay in a Days Inn and eat their own food,

“I’ll cook the stuff that I know we love,” Parton told People. “I pack it up in a picnic basket. And then we’ll go find some riverbank somewhere with our little camper, park, have a picnic. Or we’ll pull up to some little Days Inn motel, go in as long as the bed’s clean and there’s a bathroom. We just do our little things like that.”

Why Parton Stopped Touring:

Parton loved touring and performing, for decades. But in 2022, the Country Music Hall of Fame member announced she was done touring, so she could spend more time with Dean.

“I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband,” Parton told Pollstar. “We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time. Something could happen. I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.”

The Secret to Their Lasting Relationship:

Few couples make it as long as Parton and Dean. The secret to their success, Parton said, really wasn’t much of a secret.

“My husband and I always had a great friendship,” Parton said (via People). “We’re both funny, and we both have a great and warped sense of humor so we’ve always had a good time. He’s pretty much a loner and a homebody, and I’m a gypsy. But when I’m home, I love that. We don’t do the same thing so it gives us different stuff to talk about. He doesn’t get involved in my business, and I don’t in his, so we have our own little world that we create for ourselves.”

Funeral services will be private.

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton said when announcing Dean’s passing. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”