Dolly Parton Said if Her Husband Had an Affair It Would Be ‘as Much My Fault as His’
Though they’re in a happy, lasting marriage, Dolly Parton and her husband Carl Dean have often faced rumors of extramarital affairs. These rumors typically involve Parton and her male collaborators, and she often makes jokes about it rather than outright denying the relationships. She’s explained that she would keep any affair a secret and that her husband isn’t upset by the rumors. She also shared how she would react if Dean cheated on her.
Dolly Parton has faced rumors of affairs despite being with her husband for years
Over the course of her career, rumors have swirled that Parton was romantically involved with Porter Wagoner, Kenny Rogers, Sylvester Stallone, her best friend Judy Ogle, and others. Performing with these people often fuels speculation of affairs, especially if they’re singing love songs.
“I write a lot of love songs,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “I write so many of them that people say, ‘You have to have had affairs.’ I say, ‘Well, I don’t admit or deny anything.’ I have been everywhere, and I have felt everything. I’m a very passionate person, and I feel everything to the nth degree.”
While Parton denies having had a physical affair, she does admit to having an “affair of the heart” that left her devastated.
She explained how she would react if her husband cheated on her
When discussing affair rumors, Parton explained that she and Dean are not jealous people. She shared that while she was confident he wasn’t having an affair, she wouldn’t want to know if he was. If she found out, she revealed how she’d react.
“I wouldn’t want to know and he wouldn’t want to tell me. But if he did, it wouldn’t be like the end of the world for me,” she told Playboy in 1978. “I would just say it was as much my fault as his. I would probably cry and pout for a day for the attention of it, and then it would be over. To me, life is life and people is people. You cannot control every emotion that you have.”
She added that Dean would likely react the same way.
“He wouldn’t want to know. I think I would keep it from him,” she explained. “He would be more apt to tell than me. He knows I ain’t goin’ nowhere. No matter who I met or what kind of an affair I might ever have, ain’t nobody in this world could take Carl’s place. There ain’t no way in this world I’d ever lose this man.”
Dolly Parton and her husband have been happily married for years
After over 50 years of marriage, it’s clear Parton and Dean are a good match. Though she enjoys the spotlight and he steers clear of it, they have found a way to make their different lifestyles work.
“I always joke and laugh when people ask me what’s the key to my long marriage and lasting love,” Parton told People. “I always say ‘Stay gone!’ and there’s a lot of truth to that. I travel a lot, but we really enjoy each other when we’re together and the little things we do.”
