Dolly Parton came through with some words of wisdom for her fans this week and shared a rare throwback photo on Instagram of herself with her husband of 55 years, Carl Dean.
On Tuesday (Nov. 2), Parton shared an older image of the couple holding hands, though the photo seems to be edited to show Dean wearing a shirt from Parton’s merch line.
“Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does!” the photo was captioned.
The couple met in Nashville, shortly after Parton arrived in Music City to pursue her dreams of a music career (at that point, Parton had released a handful of non-charting singles; she first entered the Hot Country Songs chart with “Dumb Blonde” not long after their marriage). Parton and Dean wed on May 30, 1966. Though Parton is a worldwide superstar who loves the spotlight, her husband is the opposite. The couple has rarely been seen together and at various times during her career, Parton has even had to debunk rumors that her husband doesn’t exist.
“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Parton told Entertainment Tonight during an interview last year.
“It’s just not who he is,” Parton told Entertainment Tonight. “He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that. I’ve always respected and appreciated that in him and I’ve always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can. He said, ‘I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.’ And we do and we have.”
In July, Parton celebrated Dean’s birthday by doing a photoshoot to recreate her cover of the October 1978 issue of Playboy magazine.
“He still thinks I’m a hot chick after 57 years and I’m not going to try to talk him out of it,” she quipped during an Instagram video revealing her husband’s birthday gift.
Parton also recently made her return to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, thanks to a sizzling duet with Reba McEntire, on a remake of McEntire’s 1993 classic “Does He Love You.” The song debuted at No. 49 on the Country Airplay chart (dated Oct. 16), after it was released to radio on Oct. 8.
