Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, has passed away.
In a statement posted on Dolly’s social media, the music icon and philanthropist said, “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
The post added that Carl will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family only. No cause of death has been shared.
Dolly and Carl met at a laundromat in Nashville in the 60s. On her website, Dolly says, “I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me). He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
They married two years later and have been together ever since.
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Interestingly, there are very few publicly available photos of Carl because he and Dolly kept their relationship out of the spotlight. He never attended her red carpet events either opting to stay private. (The feature image in this article is from a social media post Dolly shared a while back.)
In 1984, Dolly even spoke to the Associated Press addressing rumours “there was no Carl Dean” and that he was someone she’d made up. She laughed it off, of course, and said she wished she could talk him into doing a photo shoot so people would know he was, in fact, real!
During interviews, she’s always spoken so lovingly of Carl. In a 2015 chat to Parade, she said, “I married a really good man.”
(Feature Image Credit: Dolly Parton/Instagram)
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