EXCLUSIVE: Dolly Parton and Late Husband Carl Dean 'Had Open Relationship' — With Pair Leading 'Separate Lives' When it Came to Lovers
Parton and Dean had different opinions on her growing fame and it impacted their marriage.
March 4 2025, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Dolly Parton once confessed she and late husband Carl Dean had an "open relationship," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
However, it had less to do with their intimacy together and more to do with their growing time apart.
In addition to her career commitments, Parton also cared for her husband as he battled Alzheimer's.
Parton and Dean were married for nearly 60 years, before the Jolene singer, 79, announced the death of her husband Monday at age 82.
But it wasn't always a perfect union, and grew especially tense at the reclusive Dean watched his wife skyrocket to stardom.
In fact, in the early 1980s, a family friend revealed Dean's desire for privacy led to Parton questioning their future: "Dolly actually asked Carl if he’d be happier if they just called it a day.
"Carl told her in no uncertain terms he wasn’t giving up on their marriage vows — but he also made it clear he was never going to be a Hollywood husband."
Parton acknowledged she and Dean lives separate lives, but she also insisted they never cheated on each other.
The singer said: "Yes, it’s an open relationship, but not sexually. I would kill him if I thought he was doing that, and he would shoot me, too."
The private couple married in 1966.
Even the couple's origin story was subdued. They first met 1964 at was hardly the most romantic of locations – the laundromat.
Still, Parton claimed she instantly knew Dean would be her future husband.
She once said: "I'd come to Nashville with dirty clothes. 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.
"He came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband."
Parton said the experiences reaffirmed her belief that there are 'spirits' and 'angels' among us.
Dean also knew it was love at first sight.
In a rare 2016 interview to mark their 50th wedding anniversary, he said: "My first thought was I'm gonna marry that girl.
"My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin'. And that was the day my life began."
Parton and Dean began dating that year but struggled to spent time together, as the hitmaker lived with her aunt and uncle at the time and she didn't want to bring him into the house while she was babysitting her young cousin.
They married after two years of dating, in 1966, despite Parton's manager opposing against her settling down so young
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In the final years of his life, Dean was ravaged by Alzheimer's and dementia, and couldn't recognize his wife. Parton left showbusiness to care for him.
While the pair of nearly six decades lived together on the singer's Tennessee estate, they didn't share a bedroom in the final years of Dean's life.
Our insiders said: "Carl lives in a different building on the couple's property in Brentwood, Tennessee."
As he battled the disease, Dean became reclusive and rarely ventured outside of the property.
A separate source close to Parton added: "While Carl was always the strong, silent type who looked after his woman behind closed doors, the tables have turned. It's now Dolly who's taken on a greater role looking after Carl since his diagnosis.
"Dolly is very protective of Carl and their relationship. She loves him with all her heart, but they're largely living separate lives and have been for some time."
