Dolly Parton has never known Nashville without her husband, Carl Dean. The two actually met by chance on the first day Parton set foot in Music City in 1964.
“Well, I just took up with a strange man, that’s all,” Parton joked in a 1977 interview with Johnny Carson.
“My daddy didn’t want me to leave home for that very reason. He knew I’d do that.”
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson clip resurfaced a few years ago, thanks to TikTok. In it, Parton shares the story of meeting Dean at a laundromat. One day after graduating high school, she packed her things. Being in such a hurry, she had only packed dirty clothes. So, she made her first-ever trip to a laundromat and ended up meeting the love of her life.
“We met at the wishy-washy and, in all honesty, it’s been wishy-washy ever since,” she said with a laugh. Watch the sweet memory below:
Dean and Parton would marry two years after meeting, in 1966. They were approaching nearly 60 years married when Carl Dean died on March 3, 2025. He was 82.
In a 2011 interview, Parton admitted that they were both “really proud” of their long-running marriage. “It’s the first for both of us. And the last,” she said.
Dean always stayed out of the spotlight, despite his wife’s global superstar status. Occasionally, Parton would share a throwback photo of the couple on social media, but sightings of the two together in public were rare. It was something they cherished.
In that same interview with Carson, Parton remarked that Dean probably wouldn’t even have been watching her appearance on the show. She also opened up a little about why her husband wasn’t overly involved in her career at the time.
“It makes him kind of nervous,” she revealed. “I don’t really know why he don’t watch, but he just never does watch me perform.”
In sharing the news of Carl Dean’s death, Parton released the following statement:
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony for family and friends only.
These 12 rarely seen photos of Dolly Parton from the 1970s give you a look at what her life — and celebrity life in general — was like 40 to 50 years ago. There are a few country stars included in these pics, but mostly this list is filled with unexpected moments with other stars you’ll recognize.