Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean, were married nearly 59 years but rarely seen together. Here's a timeline of their relationship.

• Dolly Parton and Carl Dean met outside a Nashville laundromat in 1964 and married in 1966.
• Dean stayed out of the spotlight, and Parton addressed conspiracy theories that he didn’t exist.
• Dean died on March 3, 2025, at the age of 82. Parton died on Tuesday at age 80.

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton wrote in the post. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

The post shared that Dean would be “laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending.”

August 2026: Parton died at the age of 80.

Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, who had served as her head of security, announced the singer’s death in a video posted to Parton’s Instagram on Tuesday. Parton’s representatives told Business Insider that Parton passed “at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones” after “bravely facing a brief battle with cancer.”

Parton had postponed her planned Las Vegas residency in September 2025 because of “health challenges” and canceled it in May 2026.

“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you,” Seaver said in the video. “She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD, and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever.”

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in January 2023 and was updated in August 2026.