Dolly Parton had the love story of a lifetime with her husband Carl Dean. The pair led one lovely life together before he recently passed away at 82 years old. Notoriously private, we've rarely ever heard from him outside of the rare interview. Most of the time, their love life usually comes from Parton's various accounts. One of which addresses how such a sweet connection came to be in the first place.
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In an interview with the New York Times back in 1976, Dolly opened up about meeting the love of her life. It all starts over a little bit of laundry.
"I'd come to Nashville with dirty clothes," Parton recalls. "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."
Dolly Parton Tells The Story of How She Met Her Late Husband Carl Dean
Initially, Parton actually said no. But it's not really because she wasn't interested in Carl Dean. On the contrary, she just couldn't accept such an impromptu moment for the sake of safety and their lack of familiarity. So, she comes up with an alternative. "I wouldn't go out with him. I mean, that was somethin' we was taught. You gotta know somebody or they may take you on a back road and kill you," Dolly continues. "But I said, 'You're welcome to come up to the house tomorrow because I'm babysittin' my little nephew.'"
As for Dean, it really was a case of love at first sight. In a 2016 conversation with Entertainment Tonight, he celebrates their 50 year anniversary and candidly speaks about how blown away he was by Dolly. "My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl,'" Carl says. "My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin.' And that was the day my life began. I wouldn't trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth."
