Dolly Parton has been married to the same man she was with before her singing career took off. Her music got its big break in 1966 with the album debut Hello, I’m Dolly. The rest of the 1960s was a major success for the star, continuing into the 70s and 80s. Today, she has sold more than 100 million records across the globe. Throughout it all, Parton has had one man at her side, with the pair meeting in an unlikely location.
Who is Dolly Parton married to?
Dolly Parton, 76, is married to Carl Dean, who is three years her senior at 79 years old. They were both born in Tennessee and continue to live there to this day. They tied the knot on May 30, 1966, meaning they have been married for 56 years. In 2021, they celebrated their emerald wedding anniversary.
Back in 2016, the pair decided to make their 50th wedding anniversary extra romantic, opting to get married for the second time. Speaking to People at the time, Parton said: “We’re going to get married again! I’ll have a beautiful wedding dress, ’cause I didn’t have a big long wedding dress when we got married, and we’ve got a suit for him, so we’re going to dress up and take a bunch of pictures.”
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How did Dolly Parton and Carl Dean meet?
The pair met in 1964, outside their local laundromat. It happened on the first day the country musician moved to Nashville, Tennessee, arriving in the famous music city to pursue her dream in the industry. On their first date, Dean took her to McDonald’s, Parton explained: “He pulled up to the drive-in window and got our food at McDonald’s. We know a few little places we can go without being bothered. He only likes to go places where he can be comfortable!”
Parton was 18 while Dean was 21 at the time. Just two years later the couple was married. It was only a matter of months after the wedding day when Parton released her first smash-hit album. They married in Ringgold, Georgia, with her mother being the only witness at the ceremony.
They have kept most of their personal life private, with Dean opting to stay out of the limelight while Parton’s stardom skyrocketed. Dean chose to keep running his own asphalt business throughout it all, only being seen at Parton’s concerts a handful of times.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Parton explained: “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. 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.”
Before meeting Dean, the musician admitted that she had been dating for a while. “I had a lot of boys in my life,” she explained. “I love boys. I still do. In the early days, I had a big crush on Johnny Cash. He was young and skinny, and he just had that magnetism. The way he moved around — you know, so sexy. I found out later he was just having withdrawals from drugs, but it still touched me. He was so, so sexy.”
Parton and Dean have always maintained a healthy relationship, especially compared to the singer’s other dealings with men. One was duet partner Porter Waggoner, whom she released a few albums with in the late 60s and early 70s. “My husband and I don’t argue, but Porter and I did nothing but fight. It was a love-hate relationship,” Parton admitted.
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Does Dolly Parton have any children?
The couple doesn’t have any children together, something Parton has admitted to being relieved about in later life. Speaking to Billboard, the star said: “Early on, when my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids. 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 that Carl and I are older, we often say, ‘Aren’t you glad we didn’t have kids? Now we don’t have kids to worry about.'”
The musician herself is one of a staggering 12 children. But, she is a godmother to another famous pop star. Parton worked closely with Billy Ray Cyrus in the early 1990s, soon sparking a close bond with his daughter – Miley Cyrus. The two stars have had an unbreakable bond for years, with Cyrus calling Parton her “fairy godmother”.
