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Dolly Parton Revealed The Moment She Knew Husband Carl Dean Was Not Cut Out for the Hollywood Spotlight

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Dolly Parton may be one of Hollywood’s most beloved icons, but she prefers to work the Hollywood PR machine alone. Even though she’s been married to her husband, Carl Dean, for 57 years, her fans know not to ask where he is all of the time. Dean’s privacy has been something the country singer has protected for decades

“Carl has never been in the limelight and all, never wanted to be in it,” Parton explained on the final episode of her What Would Dolly Do? Radio show. “He don’t like it.” The “Islands in the Stream” singer knew shortly after their 1966 marriage that the limelight was not for him. They attended a BMI Song of the Year ceremony when he voiced his concerns. 

Dolly Parton onstage at the 1st annual Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye Benefit Concert held at the Country Music Hall of Fame's CMA Theater on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, TN.
Dolly Parton onstage at the 1st annual Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye Benefit Concert held at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s CMA Theater on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, TN. Curtis Hilbun/AFF-USA.COM/MEGA.

“He went to one thing with me early on when we first married,” she shared. “He came out there taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that and said, ‘Don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going.’ I never asked him, and he never did.” Parton understood that her husband had drawn a very strong boundary, and she has respected it ever since — it’s no wonder their love has endured for so long!

This isn’t the first time the 77-year-old superstar has revealed that Dean is “kind of a loner.” She told Entertainment Tonight that their bond was unbreakable because her husband likes to be by himself in the country. When he is looking for company, he wants his bride by his side. “He’s kind of a loner so he doesn’t really like being with anybody but me,” she said. “He’s not one to kind of get out and socialize that much. He loves living on the farm, taking care of the property as he has for all these many years.” That sounds like a match made in heaven!

Before you go, click here to see our favorite country music couples.

Thomas Rhett, Lauren Akins at arrivals for 54th Academy Of Country Music (ACM) Awards - Arrivals 2, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV April 7, 2019.

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