The real story behind Dolly Parton’s ‘open’ marriage to husband Carl Dean – as she is left heartbroken after his death aged 82

Dolly Parton‘s unusual arrangement with beloved husband Carl Dean has resurfaced after she was left devastated by his death this week aged 82.

Carl was known for being reclusive and the couple mainly kept their relationship out of the public eye despite Dolly’s global fame.

Yet the country music icon, 79, did address their romance on occasion, notably when they were hit by claims they were in an ‘open’ relationship.

Dolly previously shed light on the truth about their marriage, quipping that they were in an ‘open’ relationship when it came to flirting, but not anything else.

‘He’s not jealous and I’m not jealous of him. He knows I flirt. He flirts too,’ she previously said as she set the record straight.

‘Yes, it’s an open relationship, but NOT sexually and I would kill him if I thought he was doing that. He would shoot me too. At the end of the day we love each other madly.’

She said Carl also saw the funny side of rumours that she was having affairs with various high-profile stars, from Sylvester Stallone to Burt Reynolds.

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Dolly Parton’s husband Carl Dean (both pictured) was known for being reclusive and the couple mainly kept their relationship out of the public eye despite her global fame

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The country music icon (pictured in January), 79, has made rare comments about her husband over the years, and they were even once hit by claims they were in an ‘open’ relationship Dolly Parton reveals why her husband Carl Dean hates going out

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‘Sometimes he goes to the grocery store and he sees a magazine with some story about me and he’ll get it and bring it home and say, ”I see you’re having Burt Reynolds’s baby again”,’ she told The Mirror.

Despite her huge fame, Dolly recalled how Carl was a ‘homebody’ and was perfectly happy on their farm, rather than attending Hollywood events or being in the public eye.

Her sweet comments about their relationship have resurfaced following the news that Carl died in Nashville on Monday.

In her heartbreaking tribute shared to Instagram, Dolly reflected on the ‘wonderful years’ the pair spent together during their 60 years of marriage.

‘Carl and I spent 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,’ she wrote.

Carl is also survived by his siblings, Sandra and Donnie. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony attended by his immediate family.

The couple have been married since 1966, and Dolly previously revealed why Carl never attended events with her, even to commemorate her music achievements.

Speaking on an episode of Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde Podcast, the star revealed that while her husband ‘loves’ music, he’s ‘not the least bit interested in being in it’.

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Dolly previously shed light on the truth about their marriage, quipping that they were in an ‘open’ relationship when it came to flirting, but not anything else

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Her comments about their relationship have resurfaced following the news that Carl died at the age of 82 in Nashville on Monday

Recalling a pivotal moment early in their marriage, Dolly revealed she once convinced Carl to attend an awards show in 1967 when she won BMI Song of the Year.

Despite the big win, ‘homebody’ Carl told her: ‘I wish you the best, but don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going.’

But that didn’t mean Carl didn’t have an impact on Dolly’s music career as he was the little-known inspiration behind her 1973 smash hit Jolene.

‘She got this terrible crush on my husband. And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention,’ she shared.

‘It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money”.’

Dolly described the woman’s appearance and told how she couldn’t help but feel threatened by her.

‘She had everything I didn’t, like legs,’ she said. ‘You know, she was about 6 feet tall.

‘So no matter how beautiful a woman might be, you’re always threatened by certain… You’re always threatened by other women, period.’

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In an Instagram statement, Dolly revealed that Carl passed away in Nashville on March 3, as she reflected on the ‘many wonderful years’ the pair spent together

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The couple have been married since 1966 but are rarely seen out in public together because Carl had no desire to be in the public eye or attend high-profile events with Dolly

Years later, she told a crowd at Glastonbury Festival: ‘I wrote that years ago when my husband… was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be.

‘I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry.’

Dolly told the audience that channeling her emotions from the uncomfortable situation into a Grammy-winning song ultimately made her very wealthy.

‘I want you folks to know, though, that something good can come from anything,’ she said.

‘Had it not been for that woman I would never have written Jolene and I wouldn’t have made all that money, so thank you, Jolene.’

While the emotions brought about by the bank teller made for the creative backbone of the hit song, the name Jolene itself was from a young fan who attended one of her concerts.

‘One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl – she was probably 8 years old at the time,’ she told the outlet.

‘And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph.

‘I said, “Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?” And she said, “Jolene.”

‘And I said, “Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.” I said, “That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that”.’

Dolly met her husband Carl at a laundromat in Nashville in 1964, when she was just 18 years old, and through the dizzy heights of fame, Carl remained a constant and supportive figure for Dolly behind the scenes.

‘I’d never been in a laundromat before. I walked outside there was this good looking man that drove by the wishy-washy laundromat. And he pulled over to the side,’ she said of their first meeting.

‘So we started talking and we married two years later.’

They tied the knot in 1966 and remained as loved-up as ever over the years, even renewing their vows in a ceremony at their Nashville home in 2016.

Dolly told how they relied on their shared sense of humour to avoid conflict and credited it for their decades-long happy marriage.

Speaking fondly of her ‘hilarious’ husband, the singer once gushed: ‘He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny…we have a lot of fun.’

2021: Dolly Parton poses in Playboy costume for husband’s birthday

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