Dolly Parton’s Husband Looked at Her Like She Was ‘the Only Woman in the World’
Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean, have been married for nearly six decades. They met just as Parton was setting out to be a recording artist, and he has supported her from the sidelines through her fame. Dean never steps into the spotlight with his wife, so few people outside of the couple’s friends and family members know how they behave together. According to one of the few reporters who met him, Dean looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.
Dolly Parton’s husband looked at her adoringly
In the 1970s, reporter Alanna Nash flew to Nashville to write a feature on Parton. The country star practically never let people into her home, but she made a rare exception for Nash. This meant Nash had a chance to meet the elusive Dean. At this time, he stayed so far from the public eye that people wondered if he truly existed.
Dean immediately made it clear that he did not want Nash to interview him for the piece. Still, he greeted Nash politely, if a little stiffly. Though he seemed uncomfortable, Nash said the love Dean felt for his wife was plain on his face.
“In a moment he stood in the living room, looking shy and uncomfortable in the presence of a stranger,” Nash wrote in her book Dolly. “Still, he was friendly and polite and after a little hesitation took my outstretched hand. Tall and thin, bordering on gaunt, he was dressed in blue jeans, a flannel shirt, an old Army jacket, work boots, gloves, and a blue wool cap. But he was still ruggedly handsome, and as he tore apart boxes to feed the fire, he turned and looked at his wife as if she were the only woman in the world.”
Dolly Parton’s guitarist shared why her husband was perfect for her
Though Dean may be a mystery to the public, the people close to Parton got to know him. Her guitarist, Don Roth, met Dean enough to understand why the couple worked so well together.
“Carl is the perfect husband for Dolly because he doesn’t demand anything of her, and he’ll always be there to come home to,” Roth said. “They seem to have a very stable relationship.”
Roth believed Dean and Parton shared a similar sense of humor, which aided their relationship. He didn’t let many things bother him, either.
“Carl’s one of those rare individuals who could be married to Dolly Parton because he’s got his head on straight,” Roth said. “He’s a good old country boy, extremely funny man. Kind of guy you can say, ‘God, Carl, you’re a country bumpkin.’ And he’ll just smile and say, ‘Yeah, probably right,’ and put the gold American Express card in his pocket and go fishing.”
She shared the secret to a long, healthy marriage
Decades after Nash witnessed the rapport between Parton and Dean, the couple is still happily together. She joked that the secret to their marital bliss is the fact that she’s away from home so frequently.
“Yeah, stay gone!” she told Vanity Fair. “We’ve been married for 50 years and I’ve been gone for about 47 of those. But the truth is, we’ve always been very compatible.”
In the years they’ve been together, Parton said the respect she holds for him has only grown deeper. While distance has made her heart grow fonder, her true secret to success is that they value their time together.
“Well, it’s just grown deeper. The longer you live with somebody, the more you know them, and you take on all their traits as well as them taking all of yours. And you just have a deeper and better understanding — more of an appreciation,” she said. “But we’ve always had a great respect for each other, and I think that’s been the thing that really and truly sustained us through the years.”
