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Faye Bradley

Contributing Online Editor, Style by SCMP


Beloved country singer Dolly Parton, known for her timeless songs “Jolene”, “I Will Always Love You” and “9 to 5”, sadly passed away on August 25 at age 80.
The musician faced autoimmune and kidney issues before her death and was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville last Friday, per People. Parton’s nephew and her security head, Bryan Seaver, also shared news of her passing in a video on Instagram. The type of cancer was not specified.

On the day she was admitted to the hospital, Parton told People about her recent health decline. “As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she said. “[I]t’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health.”

Parton’s late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, passed away in March 2025 at age 82. The couple met when Parton was 18 years old, and were together for 60 years. Parton shared her struggles with dealing with the death of her husband, who had kept a low profile compared to his superstar wife. “I’ll always miss him, of course, and I’ll always love him,” she told Today in an interview two months after his passing. “He was a great partner.”
Here’s everything we know about the country singer’s late husband, Carl Thomas Dean.
How did Dolly Parton meet Carl Thomas Dean?

The love story between Dolly Parton and her one and only husband of nearly six decades, Carl Thomas Dean, could have come straight out of a country romance ballad.
The pair met for the first time in 1964 at the Wishy Washy Laundromat on Parton’s first day in Nashville. She was 18, and he was about four years older. They dated for two years before tying the knot in 1966. This is when the singer’s career started to take flight with the release of her debut album Hello, I’m Dolly in 1967, according to her new Channel 5 documentary, Dolly Parton: In Her Own Words.
What’s the secret to their lasting marriage?

Parton and Dean were together for over 60 years. With plenty of other celebrity romances on the rocks, how did they do it?
According to the Grammy award-winning singer’s 2017 book Dolly on Dolly, Interviews and Encounters, having an “open” marriage has contributed to their success.
“Men are my weakness. Short, fat, bald or skinny – I’ve had crushes on some very unusual men, but Carl knows I’ll always come home and I’m not having sex with these people – I’m just flirting and having fun,” she said.
“He’s not jealous and I’m not jealous of him. He knows I flirt. He flirts too,” she added.
The country star clarified, however, that there was nothing sexual about their external encounters: “Yes, it’s an open relationship, but not sexually and I would kill him if I thought he was doing that. He would shoot me too. At the end of the day we love each other madly.”
What did Carl Thomas Dean do?

Per Stylecaster, Dean was a Nashville native working as an asphalt businessman when he met Parton. He was rarely seen in the public eye and kept a very private relationship with his country superstar wife.
Did Parton and Dean have any children?

Although they had been married for over half a century, Parton and Dean never had any kids together. “I know this sounds like a selfish, awful thing to say, but I’m almost glad I never had children,” Parton previously told Mojo magazine. “I worry myself to death about my little nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.”
“My husband and I, we just think of ourselves as each other’s child,” she continued. “He’s my only child, and I’m his only child.”
Was Dolly Parton related to Miley Cyrus?

Parton and Miley Cyrus were not biologically related, but the country star was the Disney alum’s godmother.
According to a 2023 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Parton became close to the “Wrecking Ball” singer via her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. “We just got to be good friends because he’s a Kentucky boy, I’m from Tennessee,” Parton said. “And he said … ‘We’re having a girl, and you’ve got to be her godmother!’ And I said, ‘Well, I’d be honoured.’ So actually, Miley and I took over from there. We just stayed very, very close through the years.”
Additional reporting by Alexa Vernice Pacis


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Who was Dolly Parton’s late husband Carl Thomas Dean, whom she was with for over 60 years?

The late country music superstar Dolly Parton with her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who passed away in 2025. Photo: DollyParton.com  

Dolly Parton’s My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy album cover. Photo: DollyParton.com

A fan pays tribute to Dolly Parton by wearing a T-shirt bearing images of the music superstar at her statue in Sevierville, Tennessee, on August 25. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean in the 1960s. Photo: @60swonderland/Instagram

Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean had an “open” marriage. Photo: @60swonderland/Instagram

Dolly Parton shared a throwback photo with her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, on Instagram in 2021, captioning the post: “Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does!” Photo: @dollyparton/Instagram

The late Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, never had children. Photo: @60swonderland/Instagram

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The country music legend, who passed away at age 80, met the Nashville native as her career began to take off, and they famously had an “open” marriage


The country music legend, who passed away at age 80, met the Nashville native as her career began to take off, and they famously had an “open” marriage.


Who was Dolly Parton’s late husband Carl Thomas Dean, whom she was with for over 60 years?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The country music legend, who passed away at age 80, met the Nashville native as her career began to take off, and they famously had an “open” marriage

The country music legend, who passed away at age 80, met the Nashville native as her career began to take off, and they famously had an “open” marriage