Dolly Parton’s Husband Passed Away On March 3rd After 60 Years Together

The man behind the country music icon sadly passed away at the age of 82. Carl Dean, who was a private individual, contrasted sharply with his wife, Dolly Parton, who lives her life boldly in the public eye.

Dean passed away on March 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

A cause of death has not been released. However, Parton shared a statement on her social media,  “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she wrote. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

Carl Dean chose to live a life outside of the spotlight. Not much is known about the man Dolly Parton loved for 60 years, but in May 2024, just a few months before his passing, Dolly shared insights into their enduring marriage.

Dolly Parton Shared Sweet Memories Of Their Time Together

“It is important to have someone there in your corner and you know they’ll love you for just who you are,” Dolly told E! News during an exclusive interview in May 2024. “There’s a great comfort in knowing that someone loves you exactly for who you are—because he fell in love with me before I became a star.”

The singer shared that her husband did not care about her fame. She quickly clarified that he was proud of her but did not care about fame itself. She then said,

“To him, I’m his star.” The singer added that their dynamic, “worked for us because we both do different things and it’s exciting when we are together

Despite the singer’s exciting lifestyle, Parton shared that their favorite time together was spent in their RV.

“We just enjoy each other. One of the things that we like to do—not necessarily a date night, we have a lot of date days—we have our little RV and we like to travel around. Going down and get some food, or I’ll make a picnic and we go down to the river.”

The couple lived simply when they were together. Dolly Parton traveled often but would collect things she thought he would love.“Carl and I have never bought big fancy presents for each other. When I see things through the years that I think he would like, when I’m out, I’ll just kind of collect stuff and give them to him.”

He returned the favor and bought her kitchen supplies, because he knew she loved to cook. In her own words, “He knows I love to cook when I’m home and he always buys me something for the kitchen. A new pot or a new pan or some kind of something he’s seen on TV he thinks I might like.“

Watch the video below to see Dolly Parton share in more detail about the marriage that stood the test of time.