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Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean tied the knot in 1966 and have since stayed together over the past several decades, thanks to mutual understanding, respect, sensitivity, and good humour.
Parton claims that in fact, their disparate passions drew them closer together.
American singer Dolly Parton, who has been married to Carl Thomas Dean for 58 years now, recently opened up about the secret to her happy and healthy married life, discussing how the couple often looks for ways to avoid arguments.
According to Parton, the two of them tied the knot in 1966 and have since stayed together over the past several decades through mutual understanding, respect, sensitivity, and good humour.
‘We’re funny’
The 78-year-old country music icon recently made an appearance on Bunnie Xo’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast and discussed in detail her unique bond with Dean.
“He’s quiet, and I’m loud, and we’re funny… Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other (and) we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun,” Parton told Jelly Roll’s wife on the podcast, Fox News reported.
At times when there is too much tension going on in their lives, “either one of us can, like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far,” she added.
‘Never fought back and forth’
Speaking on the podcast, Parton further highlighted that she and Dean “never fought back and forth,” adding that she feels glad now about this “because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing.”
“I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I’m never starting that.’ I couldn’t bear to think that he’d say something I couldn’t take… because I’m a very sensitive person toward other people and myself,” she added.
Interestingly, Parton and Dean met each other at a laundromat. At that time, she was just 18 years old, while he was 21. Being Parton’s biggest supporter, Dean has mainly remained out of the spotlight all these years.
“He loves music, but he’s not the least bit interested in being in it. And he told me that right up front,” Parton said.
Dean’s ‘uncomfortable’ moment
Parton also recalled the moment from 1967 when she won the first award for the BMI song of the year—Put it Off Until Tomorrow—and rented Dean a tuxedo.
“…You know, I begged him to go, and he did. And, oh, he was so uncomfortable the whole night,” she said, adding that once they were back home, Dean “started pulling off stuff” immediately.
Thereafter, he told her not to ask him to go to another one of “these damn things”.
According to Parton, their different interests actually brought them closer to each other. “He was a homebody, and that worked well for us,” she said.
