Dolly Parton’s Husband ‘Would Never Have Married’ if It Wasn’t for Her

Dolly Parton has been married to her husband, Carl Dean, for nearly 60 years, a fact that might have come as a surprise to her mother-in-law. Parton and Dean are opposites in many ways, but they fit together well. According to Parton, her mother-in-law wasn’t sure he would have been a good fit with anyone else. She didn’t think her son would have gotten married if it wasn’t for Parton.

Dolly Parton’s mother-in-law didn’t think her son would have gotten married 

Parton met her future mother-in-law on her first real date with Dean. They grew close over her years of marriage, and Dean’s mother shared many stories about his childhood with Parton.

“Here is this man with all of the money and material things he could ever want or need, and he still loves to dig around in dumps for what he calls ‘treasures.’ I don’t mind. I’ll sit in the camper for hours and read or write while he’s roaming around,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “Carl’s mother told me that he always loved the dirt, and he still does. He used to sit for hours on an ash pile, digging around.”

Dean’s mother believed her son’s quirks would make it hard for him to find a wife. She didn’t think he would have married if it weren’t for Parton.

“She said she’d have to literally run him down to feed him or change his diaper,” Parton wrote, adding, “She once told me that she felt if it hadn’t been for me, Carl would never have married.”

Dolly Parton’s husband knew he was going to marry her

While Dean’s mother doubted his marital prospects, he moved quickly once he met Parton. Not long after they met, he introduced her to his mother as the woman he was going to marry.

“Inside, his mother was just putting supper on the table. Without any other word of introduction Carl said to his mother, ‘Fix this girl a plate. She’s the one I’m going to marry,’” Parton wrote. “With a nervous laugh I tried to acknowledge that he had made a little joke. But something in his voice told me he hadn’t.”

He was right. After two years of dating, the couple wed in 1966. 

Carl Dean isn’t shy, even though he avoids the spotlight

Despite their lengthy marriage, few of Parton’s fans have seen Dean. He avoids the limelight entirely, preferring to stay quietly at home. 

“He’s very much a loner, and of course that suits my lifestyle perfectly,” she wrote. “We see each other often, but we are not in each other’s face all the time. I often sit up late at night writing, as I am with this book, while he’s snoozing away. Then he’ll be up and gone before I get up.”

While Parton said he’s a “loner,” she denied that he’s shy.

“People who don’t know Carl would think that he’s shy and bashful,” she wrote. “That’s not really true. He loves to have a great time and was voted wittiest in his high school class. It’s just that he’s comfortable with his own surroundings, with people he knows.”