Reba McEntire Admits She Has Never Met Dolly Parton’s Husband
Dolly Parton is one of those rare celebrities who keep their marriage completely out of the spotlight. Despite the fact that she has been married to her husband Carl Dean for almost 60 years, he is never seen in public and many of Parton’s friends haven’t even met him! Since he is never seen and the only photos that can be dug up of Dean are decades old, some insist that he doesn’t even exist. Parton has said in many interviews that he does in fact exist, but he is very much a homebody and doesn’t like to be in the public eye, so she respects his wishes.
As the mystery surrounding Dean continues, country music star Reba McEntire recently confirmed that she has never met him despite being friends with Parton for decades. During a recent interview with Andy Cohen, McEntire said that she hasn’t gotten the chance to try Parton’s cooking or meet her husband.
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Cohen added that he hasn’t met Dean either and joked, “But people really do swear he exists.” McEntire responded, “Yeah, I saw something the other day — they were out camping, and she and Carl went back to where they got married.”
Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
Parton met her now-husband when she was only 18 years old at a laundromat. She was just starting her music career, and her record label discouraged her from getting married, but of course, she went ahead and married Dean in 1966. Parton once joked that being apart so often is the key to their happy marriage and shared, “I always joke and laugh about when people ask me, ‘What’s the key to my long marriage and lasting love?’ I always say, ‘Stay gone.’ And there’s a lot of truth to that cuz I travel a lot, and my husband’s pretty much a loner. So we really enjoy each other when we’re together.”
Remind 
Queens of Country
November 2019
Get your toes-tapping as we give a nod to the queens of classic country music.
Buy This Issue