Dolly Parton Explains Why Her Husband Swore Off Public Events Decades Ago

Dolly Parton says she understands why her husband isn’t a fan of the red carpet.

According to a preview published Wednesday by Just Jared, the country icon reflects on her nearly six-decade marriage to Carl Dean during the upcoming final episode of “What Would Dolly Do? Radio.”

“Carl has never been in the limelight and all, never wanted to be in it,” she says on the Apple Music 1 show, per Just Jared. “He don’t like it.”

The “Jolene” singer realized this years ago when the couple attended a BMI Song of the Year ceremony around the time of their 1966 wedding.

Dolly Parton appears in Kansas on Aug. 14. On the final episode of her Apple Music 1 radio show, she explains why her husband doesn't do public events with her.
Dolly Parton appears in Kansas on Aug. 14. On the final episode of her Apple Music 1 radio show, she explains why her husband doesn't do public events with her.

Dolly Parton appears in Kansas on Aug. 14. On the final episode of her Apple Music 1 radio show, she explains why her husband doesn't do public events with her.

“He went to one thing with me early on when we first married,” she said of the event. “He came out there taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that and said, ‘Don’t ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain’t going.’ I never asked him and he never did.”

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight earlier this year, the singer explained why she and Dean “work so well together” despite their differences.

“He’s kind of a loner so he doesn’t really like being with anybody but me,” she said at the time. “He’s not one to kind of get out and socialize that much. He loves living on the farm, taking care of the property as he has for all these many years.”

The final episode of “What Would Dolly Do? Radio” is set to air Friday.

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