Joann SchefflerWhether you are a fan of the late Tennessee country queen Dolly Parton or not, one thing is clear. The Jolene singer had a certain spark and charm to her. She was never one to pull any punches and always openly told it like it was, even if it was her most secret and personal details.
Everyone knows by now that Dolly Parton passed away on August 25, 2026, just 18 months after the death of the love of her life, Carl Dean. The two carried on a caring and respectful marriage that lasted more than six decades. But Dolly always said there was an important detail to their success when it came to their marriage, one that many others never quite understood.
Dolly Parton Revealed the Unusual Marriage Rules She and Tennessee Husband Carl Dean Followed
The country singer admitted that she considered herself a major flirt. She had a wandering eye when it came to men. However, though her eyes may have wandered, her heart clearly belonged to only one man, Carl Dean.
“Men are my weakness,” Parton openly stated during her 2017 book interviews. She had no preference. She enjoyed all types of men, according to SheKnows. However, it was not in the way many would think.
“Short, fat, bald or skinny — I’ve had crushes on some very unusual men,” she shared. “This isn’t a confession of infidelity. Carl knows I’ll always come home, and I’m not having sex with these people — I’m just flirting and having fun.”
Dolly Parton also admitted she permitted Carl to do the same. She said that he also loved to flirt and carry on with the women he would meet. But when it comes right down to it, they both agreed there are limits and boundaries, ones that neither of them would be permitted to break, not that they ever wanted to. “He’s not jealous, and I’m not jealous of him,” she explained.
Trust and Honesty
Per Dolly, she and Carl were always on the same page when it came to their marriage. While they considered it an “open relationship,” they agreed that they would never betray the other, stating, “at the end of the day, we love each other madly.”
The couple cherished each other right up to the end. When Carl Dean died in 2025, Dolly shared a touching tribute to her late husband, saying, “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.”
Dolly’s Unexpected Passing
Just a year and a half after Carl’s passing, fans were shocked to hear of the unexpected death of the country music icon. Per ET, Dolly died on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville.
People Magazine writes that, per her reps, Parton had been fighting kidney and autoimmune complications for the past several months. The singer was laid to rest in a private ceremony on August 28 at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, Tennessee.
Joann covers high-profile industry features, investigative entertainment stories, and long-form trending media profiles. She has 15 years of experience in the online news vertical.
