(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Tonight, Dolly Parton is the recipient of the 2016 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the CMA Awards 50th Anniversay event. Parton is a veteran as well as a legend in country music and for years, she’s had a loyal man at her side, husband Carl Thomas Dean. For the facts on Parton and her marriage to Dean, read on below.
1. The Couple Never Had Children
Dolly Parton and her husband have been married for five decades, but they never had any children. Family is very important to Parton, but she would rather spend time with the children of others.
2. Dean and Parton Are Great-Grandparents
Parton and her husband never had kids, so how could they even be grandparents? Well, the couple are so close to Parton’s siblings’ children, they may as well be grandparents as Parton explained in an interview with People:
I grew up in a big old family with eight kids younger than me and several of my brothers and sisters came to live with me early on in my life. I’ve loved their kids just like they’re my grandkids, and now I’ve got great-grand-kids!
Dolly Parton says her nieces and nephews call her “Aunt Granny” and call hubby Dean “Uncle PeePaw”.
3. They Celebrated Their 50th Anniversary In May
The longtime couple married on May 30, 1966 and this past May they celebrated fifty years as man and wife together. They married two years after meeting in a private ceremony.
4. Dean And His Wife Met at a Laundromat
According to DollyParton.com, Dean and Parton met outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee on the first day Dolly moved there.
5. Parton Says That Her Husband Is More
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton has said that her husband is actually more entertaining, explaining on DollyParton.com:
While one would think Dolly would be the most entertaining of the two, she often says that it’s Carl’s unique sense of humor which keeps her laughing. Given Dolly’s larger-than-life outlook on everything, it makes perfect sense that her one-and-only would be equally as special in every way.