Dolly Parton shocked her fans on Monday with the announcement that her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, had died at 82.
Unlike the bubbly 79-year-old country legend, Dead was a more reclusive figure who eschewed the touring life and was rarely seen in public — with or without Parton.
Dean was last pictured out in public in photos snapped just over five years ago.
The pictures were snapped in 2019, when he was seen venturing out to a post office in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Prior to that, Dean hadn’t been knowingly photographed in public in four decades, though he and Dolly had both made under-the-radar trips together.
For his 2019 outing, Dean — who was 77 at the time — was joined by an assistant who drove him to the post office.
Dolly Parton’s late husband Carl Dean is pictured in one of the final public photos of him from 2019, five years before his death on Monday at 82
Parton announced her husband’s death with a heartbreaking statement on Instagram after nearly 60 years of marriage
Dean was dressed casually in a black-and-white gingham button-up shirt and dark jeans, along with a plaid-lined tan hunting jacket.
Although his shaggy hair was considerably grayer than in his heyday, he still looked remarkably similar to how he appeared in photos taken decades earlier with his wife.
Dolly shared the somber news on Monday, March 3 — just a few weeks shy of her 59th wedding anniversary — that her husband Carl had died at 82.
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Devastated Dolly Parton announces death of her reclusive husband Carl Dean at 82
In her heartbreaking tribute, Dolly reflected on the ‘many wonderful years’ the pair spent together.
‘Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,’ Dolly wrote.
In addition to his longtime wife, Dean is survived by his siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
Parton’s statement indicated that her late husband would be laid to rest in a private ceremony attended only by their immediate family.
In 2015, Dolly told People that part of the secret to their enduring love was that she and Carl were pleasantly different from each other.
Dolly shared the somber news on Monday, March 3 — just a few weeks shy of her 59th wedding anniversary — that her husband Carl had died at 82
In an Instagram statement the legendary singer revealed that Carl passed away in Nashville on Monday, March 3rd, as she reflected on the ‘many wonderful years’ the pair spent together
‘They say that opposites attract, and it’s true,’ she explained. ‘We’re completely opposite, but that’s what makes it fun. I never know what he’s gonna say or do. He’s always surprising me.’
She later shed more light on why her husband avoided the spotlight, which he ‘never wanted to be in,’ in a 2023 episode of What Would Dolly Do? Radio on Apple Music.
‘He went to one thing with me early on, when we first married, to a BMI Song of the Year [event], and he came out of there taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that and said, “Don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going.” I never asked him and he never did,’ she recalled.
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Inside Dolly Parton's private marriage to husband Carl Dean after his death at 82
The singer previously said that Dean spent most of his time at their estate in the suburb of Brentwood, near Nashville.
However, he could presumably come and go as he pleased, as he didn’t have a famous visage, unlike his superstar wife.
Despite Dolly’s enormous success — and the life of luxury that it provided for them — the two never had any children.
While speaking to Saga Magazine in 2023, the performer shed some light on why she and Carl kept their family as a duo.
‘When you’re a young couple, you think you’re going to have kids, but it just wasn’t one of those burning things for me,’ she explained. ‘I had my career and my music and I was traveling. If I’d had kids, I’d have stayed at home with them. I’m sure and worried myself to death about them.’
In 2023, Dolly revealed that her famously reclusive husband told her he didn’t want to attend any more public events after having a bad time at a BMI Song of the Year event they attend shortly after marrying in 1966
They never had any children. Although Dolly said they weren’t opposed to children and had names picked out in case, it wasn’t a priority for either of them
Later, she felt vindicated by her decision, as she would ‘hate to be bringing a child into this world right now’ due to ‘everything that’s going on.’
However, in 2014 she told Billboard that she and Carl weren’t opposed to having children, and admitted they even had names picked out if they ended up having any.
The same year, she told People: ‘I often think, it just wasn’t meant for me to have kids so everybody’s kids can be mine.’
Back in 1977, she also told the publication that for her cover story that she wouldn’t want to have children if it meant ‘leav[ing] them for somebody else to raise while I have a career.’