<p id=”par-1_60″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/dolly-parton/”>Dolly Parton</a> and her husband, Carl Dean, were noticeably different. Parton embraced <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>fame</a> and glamour, whereas Dean preferred to stay home and work on their farm. While he wanted to stay out of the spotlight, it was hard to avoid it entirely. The couple’s neighbors recognized Dean was Parton’s husband, but she said this did not bother him at all.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-said-notoriety-relating-to-her-fame-did-not-bother-her-husband”>Dolly Parton said notoriety relating to her fame did not bother her husband</h2>
<p id=”par-2_20″>Though Parton’s music career brought in good money, Dean <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-partons-husband-carl-dean-continued-work-after-famous.html/”>continued to work</a>. He liked having spending money of his own.</p>
<p id=”par-3_85″>“He works outside, he’s got his tractor and his grader, he keeps our farm in order,” she told Playboy in 1978, per the book <em><a href=”https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolly-on-dolly-randy-l-schmidt/1124694764″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Dolly on Dolly</a></em>. “He wouldn’t have to work no more, because I’m making good money now, but he gets up every morning at daylight. If he ain’t workin’ on our place, he’ll take a few jobs, like grading somebody’s driveway or cleaning off somebody’s property to pick up a couple of hundred bucks. He likes his own money to horse-trade with.”</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Speaking of Dolly Parton, she married Carl Dean on this date in 1966.<br><br>Today is her first anniversary without him. Would’ve been their 59th. <a href=”https://t.co/h5gUx1uGpy”>pic.twitter.com/h5gUx1uGpy</a></p>— VintageCountryMusic (@realcountry1953) <a href=”https://twitter.com/realcountry1953/status/1928451622327230583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 30, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-4_24″>When asked if people recognized him as her husband when he worked on their houses, she confirmed that people did. Dean didn’t care, though.</p>
<p id=”par-5_88″>“Oh, sure; he don’t give a s***. He don’t go up and say, ‘Hey, I’m Dolly Parton’s husband, can I grade your drive?’” she said. “If somebody knows it, he don’t make a big thing of it; he’ll play it down, he’ll say, ‘Well, I ain’t in show business, I got to work, now what can I do for you?’ Or he’ll say, ‘Hell, she ain’t makin’ no money.’ He’s a man with a lot of pride; even though my money is his money, his money is mine.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-said-her-husband-told-her-he-wanted-to-avoid-the-spotlight”>Dolly Parton said her husband told her he wanted to avoid the spotlight</h2>
<p id=”par-6_26″>For the most part, Dean avoided events relating to Parton’s career altogether. In the earliest days of her fame, though, he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-partons-husband-fish-water-rare-public-appearance.html/”>attended a ceremony</a> with her.</p>
<p id=”par-7_58″>“I was very excited, because I’d never been [to an awards dinner] before,” she said, per the book <em>Dolly</em> by Alanna Nash. “Carl said he’d go with me. That was the first time he’d been to any industry function with me, and it was the last. I was really nervous, but Carl was worse off than I was.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_11″>Afterward, Dean told Parton that would be his last industry event.</p>
<p id=”par-9_74″>“He really felt out of place that night,” Parton said. “So after we got home, he said, ‘Now I know this is what you want for your life, and I’m proud for you because I want you to have it if it makes you happy. But it doesn’t make me happy, and I don’t want to be part of it. I’m just too uncomfortable. It’s not me, and I can’t get involved in it.’” </p>
<p id=”par-10_27″>This never bothered her. While he told her he would attend an event if it meant a lot to her, she never asked him to do this.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-even-avoided-her-concerts”>He even avoided her concerts</h2>
<p id=”par-11_15″>Dean even avoided his wife’s concerts. When he did go, he liked to be alone.</p>
<p id=”par-12_41″>“‘[Carl] is not a show person,” she explained. “He’s a quiet and home-loving person. If he comes to a show, he likes to go on his own. Most of the time I don’t know when he’s coming. It’s good that way.”</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.<br><br>‘If You… <a href=”https://t.co/1CFKX1rudB”>pic.twitter.com/1CFKX1rudB</a></p>— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DollyParton/status/1898004955119694187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 7, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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Dolly Parton Wished the ‘Embarrassing’ End to Her Porter Wagoner Collaboration ‘Never Happened’ </a>
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<p id=”par-13_22″>At one show, though, Dean arrived and spoke to Parton’s band. This surprised everyone. Parton shared why he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-partons-husband-started-attending-concerts-tired-people-bugging.html/”>decided to show up</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-14_31″>“He just got tired of people buggin’ him about it,” Parton said. “And then he knew I didn’t until just lately have my show the way I wanted it to be.”</p>