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.”
