Music legend Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean, have been together for more than
50 years, yet surprisingly little is known about their marriage.
One thing that is clear, however, is just what Dean thinks of his wife's music.
"Jolene," "9 to 5," and "I Will Always Love You" are just a few of Dolly Parton's most
iconic songs.
But believe it or not, these legendary jams probably don't do much for her husband.
In fact, Dean is one of the few people out there who doesn't care much for Parton's music
at all.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, Parton confessed that her uber-elusive hubby
had only seen her perform on stage a handful of times.
Apparently, he's not big on attending her concerts, unless she's tearing up the stage
at a state fair, that is.
"He loves to go the fair and go to the tractor pull and go to the stock yards and do all
that, so sometimes he'll ramble around and kinda hear me sing."
So what kind of music is Dean into?
"He likes hard rock, he likes Led Zeppelin and bluegrass music, so my music's somewhere
in between."
Parton describes her husband's music taste as a "touchy subject."
Thankfully, however, her husband still supports her in pretty much everything she does.
"Well, he's proud of me, he's proud of me, and he loves that I love what I do, but he's,
I don't know, I think it's just a touchy subject."
So Dean isn't big on country music.
So what?
In fact, this little quirk is just one of many in a strange, fascinating and genuinely
heartwarming marriage.
The day Dolly Parton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, she met Carl Dean outside the Wishy Washy
laundromat.
Recalling their first encounter on her official website, Dean writes:
"My first thought was, 'I'm gonna marry that girl.'
My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin'.'
And that was the day my life began."
But marriage was the last thing on Parton's mind, as her move to Music City had coincided
with the start of her budding singing career.
Still, she was enchanted by him, and they did decide to get hitched in 1966.
While Dean's mom was ecstatic to throw the couple a big wedding, Parton's record company
reportedly wasn't pleased.
Parton later told CMT News:
"Everyone at my label...had invested money in me and in building my career, so they asked
me if I'd wait a year to get married."
Parton eventually decided to buck her record labels orders, and she, her groom, and her
mom headed off to Georgia, to avoid the marriage being reported in the Tennessee newspapers.
Parton revealed:
"My mother made me a little white dress and a little bouquet and a little Bible.
But I said, 'I can't get married in a courthouse because I'll never feel married.'
So we found a little Baptist church in town."
Throughout her time in the limelight, Dolly Parton's private marriage and her even more
private husband have been the target of the tabloids.
America's country sweetheart even admitted to Oprah Winfrey that the paparazzi have often
mistaken male members of her crew for her husband, but they've still managed to keep
things under wraps.
It wouldn't be surprising, of course, if the couple's secretive marriage is one of the
reasons why they've been able to stay together for so long, well, that and the fact that
they apparently never argue, according to Parton.
They do have their tiffs from time to time, just like any couple.
But, as Parton told Oprah:
"He's always loved who I was, and I loved who he was, and we never tried to change each
other."
"We've always had a good time.
He's crazy and I'm crazy.
We laugh a lot, and I think that's been the most precious part of our relationship."
Dolly Parton's Tennessee-based theme park, Dollywood, isn't the only place the superstar
can run off to when she wants to escape from her everyday life.
When she's not working nine to five, a pal of Parton's told Closer Weekly that the entertainer
retreats to a small cabin for some solitude.
"It's like half a little chapel and half a work space.
There's no phone, and Carl never ventures in there, it's Dolly's space."
The source claimed that Parton can spend hours in the cabin, strumming her guitar and working
out songs, even going as far as to call it her happy place.
In preparation for their 50th wedding anniversary in May 2016, Dolly Parton and Carl Dean planned
a blow-out party.
Parton told the crowd at one of her concerts that she would wear a beautiful wedding dress
for the occasion, because:
"I didn't have a big, long wedding dress when we got married, and we've got a suit for him
so we're going to dress up and take a bunch of pictures."
"I'm gonna have someone make me a beautiful wedding gown, and we're gonna probably do
it all over again."
Even Parton was surprised that Dean agreed to the photo-op, considering he usually avoids
the cameras, but what was really shocking was the fact that Dean was willing to make
a rare public appearance at the shindig.
Parton had previously described her husband as a loner, telling People magazine:
"He doesn't particularly care about being around anybody but me."
Though he's supportive of his wife being in the limelight, the "I Will Always Love You"
singer told People that Dean doesn't like all the hullabaloo that comes with being a
public figure.
Of course, it's great that he's managed to etch out such a solitary life and maintain
his loving marriage to his superstar wife, but you've gotta admit, it's a heck of a unique
way to live.
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