The country singer’s husband of almost 60 years died in March. He was 82

Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean.Credit : 

Dolly Parton/Instagram

Dolly Parton knows she will see Carl Dean again.

In an interview with The Independent published on Wednesday, May 28, the “Jolene” singer spoke about her late husband of almost 60 years, who died in March after being “ill for quite a while.”

“I really feel his presence. I just try to go on, because I know I have to,” Parton, 79, told the publication. “And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore. But that still doesn’t make up for the loss and the loneliness of it.”

Carl Thomas Dean and Dolly Parton.courtesy Dolly Parton

The 10-time Grammy winner also spoke about how her religious beliefs have helped her through the period following his death. “I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday.”

“And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together,” Parton continued. “You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans – but that’s the hardest part.”

In the meantime, Parton is putting her energy into “other things” to “keep him ever-present in everything that I do.”

Parton and Dean met in 1964 outside of a laundromat in Nashville, where she moved to pursue a career in music. “I’d come to Nashville with dirty clothes,” she told The New York Times in 1976.

“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. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband.”

Parton said that she wasn’t planning on getting married. “I hadn’t intended to find anybody, but you know how love goes. And he understood that I had to do what I had come to Nashville to do.” They tied the knot in 1966.

Dean was very private and remained out of the spotlight throughout their decades-long marriage, but always remained Parton’s biggest fan.

Dolly Parton in Nashville on May 19, 2025.Jason Kempin/Getty

Days after Dean died on March 3, Parton released the song “If You Hadn’t Been There,” dedicated to the love of her life on March 6.

“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together,” she wrote on Instagram. “Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”