Carl Thomas Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of almost six many years, has died. He was 82 years previous. The “Jolene” singer shared the heartbreaking information on her Instagram web page on March 5, 2025. “Carl and I spent many fantastic years collectively,” she wrote. “Phrases cannot do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thanks on your prayers and sympathy.” At the moment, no reason behind demise has been disclosed. Dean is survived by Parton and his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie. In line with the assertion, he shall be laid to relaxation in a non-public ceremony attended by his quick household.

Parton and Dean have been married for almost 59 years, having tied the knot in Could 1966. Their love story was legendary — a lot in order that “Jolene” was impressed by a financial institution teller who had a crush on Dean. “I wrote that years in the past when my husband… was spending a bit extra time with Jolene than I believed he ought to be,” she stated on the 2014 Glastonbury Pageant. “I put a cease to that. I removed that redhead girl in a rush.” In fact, it was all in good enjoyable, and their bond remained unshakable for many years.

Parton at all times spoke about her love for Dean with deep admiration. “Carl is the one man in my life,” she as soon as shared with Individuals. “I might like to develop previous with him. If he ought to die first, I’ll by no means marry once more. My love is that deep.” And regardless of her world superstardom, their almost six-decade marriage remained non-public by way of and thru.

For somebody married to one of the vital well-known ladies on the planet, Carl Thomas Dean managed to impressively keep out of sight — a lot in order that conspiracy theorists as soon as questioned if he even existed. However Dolly Parton at all times set the document straight: Dean was actual, he simply had zero curiosity in being within the public eye.

“It is simply not who he’s,” Parton advised Leisure Tonight. “He is like, a quiet, reserved particular person.” She went out of her method to defend him, too. “I’ve at all times revered and appreciated that in him and I’ve at all times tried to maintain him out of the limelight as a lot as I can.” Dean ran his personal asphalt-paving enterprise in Nashville, far faraway from the rhinestone-studded lifetime of his famous person spouse. The 2 met in 1964 at a laundromat on 18-year-old Parton’s first day within the metropolis. “I used to be stunned and delighted that whereas he talked to me, he checked out my face (a uncommon factor for me),” she shared on her web site. “He gave the impression to be genuinely focused on discovering out who I used to be and what I used to be about.” That curiosity clearly caught. They married two years later and stayed collectively for almost six many years, renewing their vows in 2016 for his or her fiftieth anniversary. 

Whereas Dean most well-liked a low profile, Parton has by no means been shy about how a lot she adored him. “He is quiet and I am loud, and we’re humorous,” she stated in an episode of the “Dumb Blonde” podcast. “Oh, he is hilarious. And I believe one of many issues that is made it final so lengthy by way of the years is that we love one another [and] we respect one another, however we’ve got a variety of enjoyable.” Our ideas are with Parton and the remainder of the household right now.