Carl Dean Death: When Dolly Parton Revealed the Secret of Her Lasting Marriage with the Businessman Amid His Passing Away at 82

Dolly Parton’s husband and businessman, Carl Dean, passed away at the age of 82. Amid his death, here’s looking back at the interview when the pop icon revealed the secret behind her lasting marriage.

Written by Rashi Desai , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 04, 2025 | 01:09 PM IST | 8K

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean via Getty Images

Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.

Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, passed away at the age of 82. The musician announced the unfortunate news on her Instagram and paid condolences to her partner, to whom she had been married for 60 years.

Amid the death of the businessman, a 3-month-old video of the 9-to-5 crooner surfaced on the internet, where she spilled the secret over her lasting marriage with Dean.

While making an appearance on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, the country-pop singer shared that they had been poles apart from each other. While Dean is private and quiet, Parton is loud.

Elaborating on the statements further, the pop star claimed, “He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny.” She continued to share, “Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other [and] we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun.”

The musician went on to reveal that she and her late husband would often use humor to ease out the heavy moments. She stated that the couple used to try not to get into fights as much as possible.

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Moreover, in the talks with the podcast host, Parton said, “We never fought back and forth. And I’m glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing. I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that.’”

The veteran musician and Dean got married in 1966, and Parton was only 18 at the time.

The duo first met outside of the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville, and after two years, they tied the knot. In a conversation with People Magazine in December, Parton shared that it is always the “perfect day” spent with her husband.