Dolly Parton’s 11 Heartbreaking Words About Carl Dean Before His Death

Carl Dean died one year before Dolly Parton, but the country music icon never seriously considered sharing her life with anyone else. In a conversation held about a year after her husband’s death, Parton offered 11 heartfelt words that made clear Dean remained the only man she would ever love in that way.

“I think Carl Dean’s waiting for me on the other side,” Parton said during an onstage conversation at Dollywood’s 2026 season-opening event, according to WBIR Channel 10. She had been joking about dating rumors when her tone briefly turned emotional. Parton then returned to her trademark humor, imagining how Dean might react if she arrived in heaven with a new partner. “If I should show up at the pearly gates with somebody else, he would not like that. He’d be saying, ‘Who’s that little pi***r?’” she joked, prompting loud laughter from the crowd.

Parton’s comments echoed the devotion she had expressed throughout her marriage, including when she addressed long-running speculation that the couple had an “open” relationship. In a 2014 interview with the Irish Mirror, she clarified that their relationship was open “but NOT sexually,” adding that she and Dean loved each other deeply. When imagining a potential love triangle at heaven’s gates, however, Parton kept the scenario playful rather than violent. She suggested Dean might tell her to leave the new man outside and enter heaven with him.

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Although Dean largely avoided the spotlight and rarely appeared with Parton at public events, she spoke and wrote openly about their relationship. Long before either of them died, Parton had even described her fear of being separated from him. In her book “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,” she wrote, “My prayer is that we will die at the same time. … We’d sure lose a lot if we lost each other.”

One person who believed Parton may have passed away in part because of a broken heart was her friend, singer Margo O’Donnell. In an interview with RTE Radio 1, O’Donnell mentioned that Dean had had memory troubles leading up to his death at the age of 82, which had taken a major toll on the singer. Specifically, O’Donnell explained that Dean had always known who Parton was, though shortly before he died, he lost memory of her as well. “That broke her. And she hasn’t really done very well since Carl passed away,” O’Donnell said. The Irish country star reiterated that in an interview with Highland Radio as well, telling the host, “Since Carl passed away — and Stella, her sister, said this to me — she hasn’t just been the Dolly, the jovial Dolly.”

Parton and Dean remained devoted partners to the end, and they now share a final resting place in Nashville, Tennessee. Their deaths marked a painful loss for family, friends and generations of fans, but the couple’s enduring love story continues to resonate. If Parton’s own words are any indication, she fully expects Dean to be waiting when they meet again.