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Dolly Parton Jokes She’s ‘Sick’ of Husband Carl Dean After 57 Years: ‘I’m Sure He’s Sick of Me’
Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean, have been going strong since the mid-1960s, but even the most stable relationships have their ups and downs. After nearly six decades together, the “Jolene” songstress joked she’s “sick” of her longtime love.
“I’m sure he’s sick of me,” Dolly, 74, hilariously shared on the “Table Manners with Jessie Ware” podcast, which was released on Tuesday, December 1. “My husband and I have been together for 57 years, been married 54, and I’m sick of him.”
The Grammy winner and her businessman beau tied the knot in 1966. Carl not only had to adapt to her status as a Hollywood superstar at the start of their romance, but he also acclimated to dating a woman with a large number of siblings as Dolly is one of 12 children.
“He has one brother and one sister, so he’s had to kind of get used to my big family because I’ve always had my family around me,” the “Islands in the Stream” singer explained. “He loves them all, and they love him.”
Dolly and Carl are extremely private when it comes to their relationship, but the Steel Magnolias alum gave a rare glimpse inside their life at home. When she’s not traveling for her iconic country music career, Dolly said she enjoys being in the kitchen.
“I love to cook. Everything about food I love,” she shared with host Jessie Ware. “My weaknesses have always been men, sex and food, and not necessarily in that order.”
The former 9 to 5 actress has accomplished so much in her legendary life, but she couldn’t imagine not having Carl by her side through it all. When the two crossed paths outside a laundromat in Nashville in 1964, the pair practically fell in love at first sight.
“I knew as soon as I met Carl there was no point looking for somebody else,” Dolly has said, while Carl noted the feeling was completely mutual. “My first thought was, I’m gonna marry that girl,” he once shared. “My second thought was, Lord, she’s good-lookin’! And that was the day my life began.”
Even though Carl isn’t interested in being in the spotlight like the “I Will Always Love You” artist, the differences in their relationship make their bond that much stronger. “Carl is quiet,” an insider told Closer Weekly in August 2020. “He balances the bigness of her life.”
