Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, dies at 82

Carl Dean, the longtime husband of country music legend Dolly Parton, has died at the age of 82.

Dean passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a statement posted by Parton on social media.

Parton remembered their six decades together, saying, “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.”

The couple met outside a Nashville laundromat in 1964 when Parton was just 18 years old.

They married two years later in a private ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.

Throughout their marriage, Dean kept a low profile, focusing on his asphalt-paving business instead of Parton’s spotlight.

However, he did inspire some of her work, including her classic hit “Jolene.”