The news that Dolly Parton’s husband of 60 years, Carl Dean, has passed away at the age of 82 has seen hearts everywhere breaking for the star.
A statement posted to Dolly's Instagram read in part, ‘Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82… He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.’ Below the announcement, a statement from Dolly read, ‘Carl and I spend 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.’
While Dolly Parton tends to keep her private life under wraps, she has made a few comments over the years about Carl and their decision to not start a family— one that may have been considered unusual when they got married back in 1966.
The country singer— who married Carl when she was 20 years old, and he was 23— previously broached the subject of having children while chatting to Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV+'s The Oprah Conversation back in 2020. The 9 to 5 singer revealed that she was ultimately grateful that she didn’t become a mother as it allowed her to have a fulfilling career and life.
The then 74-year-old singer told Oprah, ‘Since I had no kids, and my husband was pretty independent, I had freedom. So, I think a big part of my whole success is the fact that I was free to work.’
She continued, ‘I didn't have children because I believed that God didn't mean for me to have kids… so I could do things like Imagination Library [her book gifting program]. Because if I hadn't had the freedom to work, I wouldn't have done all the things I've done. I wouldn't be in a position to do all of the things I'm doing now.’
Three years later, Dolly opened up again about her and Carl's decision not to become parents in Saga Magazine. She said, ‘I haven't missed it like I thought I might. 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. I had my career and my music and I was travelling. If I'd had kids, I'd have stayed at home with them. I'm sure and worried myself to death about them.’
She continued, ‘With everything that's going on, I'd hate to be bringing a child into this world right now! I always say God didn't let me have children so that all kids could be mine.’
Sarah O'Byrne is a writer for Grazia, heat, Closer, Yours, Bella and Crime Monthly. She focuses primarily on celebrity and entertainment news.