Are Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean Still Together? Updates on Their Very Private Romance 

As one of the most prolific stars in the music industry, most aspects of Dolly Parton’s life have been highly publicized for more than five decades. Through all of her fame, one thing has remained sacred to the “Jolene” singer — her relationship with Carl Thomas Dean. ​

How Did Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean Meet?

Dolly and Carl’s romance began when they met each other at a laundromat in Nashville in 1964. She had just moved to Music City from her family home near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee after graduating high school.

“I’d come to Nashville with dirty clothes,” Dolly told The New York Times in May 1976. “I was in such a hurry to get here — and after I’d put my clothes in the machine, I started walkin’ down the street, just lookin’ at my new home and this guy hollered at me, and I waved. Bein’ from the country, I spoke to everybody. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband.”

When Did Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean Get Married? 

After two years of dating, Carl, who owned an asphalt laying company at the time, proposed to Dolly. They wed on May 30, 1966, in a private ceremony at the Ringgold Baptist Church in Ringgold, Georgia.

The “9 to 5” songstress opened up about her marriage in a rare interview more than a decade after tying the knot.

“He’s sort of shy and quiet,” Dolly told People of her husband in April 1977. “What we have together is so sweet and good that I’d never want it to get jumbled up with the other.”

The esteemed songwriter has only been spotted out in public with Carl on a few occasions since then.

“I’ve known how to keep my husband private,” she said during a March 2022 appearance on The Kelleigh Bannen Show. “It’s just natural to me to protect the things and the people I love and to protect my own privacy.”

Are Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean Still Together?

Despite their lack of public appearances, Dolly and Carl are still together. The longtime couple celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary in May 2023.

Does Dolly Parton Have Kids?

Through their years of everlasting love, Dolly and Carl decided not to have children.

“God has a plan for everything and I think it probably was his plan for me not to have kids, so that everybody’s kids could be mine,” Dolly told Closer in October 2017 of why she never became a mother.

Dolly and her hubby have remained close to all of her siblings’ kids over the past few decades.

“I’ve loved their kids just like they’re my grandkids, and now I’ve got great-grandkids!” the Steel Magnolias actress gushed to People in May 2014.