Why Dolly Parton Doesn’t Wear Her Wedding Ring
Dolly Parton is a singer, songwriter, actor, and author. She’s been in the business for more than 50 years and is still one of the most popular and recognizable musicians on the planet. The Queen of Country has been like an open book for fans when talking about her childhood and career. But something Parton is notoriously private about is her husband, Carl Dean. In fact, most people have never seen him or know anything about the man she’s been married to for nearly six decades.
After a secret wedding in the ’60s, the couple renewed their vows in 2016 but Parton hasn’t been seen wearing the new wedding ring she got. Read on to find out the reason why.
Why Parton and Dean had to have a secret wedding
Parton met Dean outside a laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee shortly after she moved to the Music City in 1964.
Dean recalled their first encounter on Parton’s official website saying: “My first thought was, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl.’ My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin’.’ And that was the day my life began.”
After dating for two years, the couple decided to tie the knot. But Parton’s record label wanted the rising star to hold off another year before saying “I do.” The pair didn’t listen and instead traveled across state lines to Ringgold, Georgia, and wed in a secret ceremony at a small Baptist church 150 miles outside Nashville.
When asked about one of the keys to a successful marriage during an interview with ET Canada, the “I Will Always Love You” songbird shared: “We both have a warped sense of humor,” she said. “And I think humor, honestly, is one of the best things when you’re married like that. Even if you have a problem, if you have a great sense of humor, if you say something you can’t take back [you] usually have some crazy way of getting out of it.”
They renewed their vows for the 50th wedding anniversary giving Parton some semblance of the big wedding she has always wanted.
“I’ve always wanted a big beautiful dress, the whole thing,” she said.
In addition to getting a fancy wedding dress, Parton also got new rings.
When discussing her initial half-carat wedding ring Parton told Rolling Stone: “My husband and I bought these rings on his mother’s credit card and paid for them until we paid them off. I had this one done up for the new wedding. It’s three-and-a-half carats. I had it made out in LA.”
The reason Parton doesn’t wear her new ring
Fans have been on alert trying to spot the large sparkler Parton talked about whenever she makes a public appearance but with no luck.
That’s because Parton doesn’t wear it or any real diamonds when she’s performing these days. Her creative director Steve Summers explained to W magazine that the “Jolene” artist still wears lots of jewelry but it’s mostly all fake because she is too generous.
“She used to wear real stuff,” Summers said before adding, “But if someone told Dolly they liked her earrings, she’d take them off and hand them to that person! I’d say, ‘Those were real diamonds!’ and Dolly would shrug. So now we always go for fakes.”
“We don’t like the real stuff!” Parton joked. “I’m a rhinestone girl!”
