Dolly Parton Admitted She ‘Never’ Wanted to Talk About Her Job With Her Husband
Dolly Parton’s career exploded while she was married to her husband, Carl Dean. They wed in 1966, and she joined Porter Wagoner’s show shortly afterward. By their 10th anniversary, she was on her way to becoming a bona fide superstar. Still, she said she never discussed her career with her husband. She shared why they avoided the subject.
Dolly Parton said she never discussed work with her husband
Parton’s husband always supported her career, but he didn’t have any involvement in it.
“He never interferes with me businesswise,” she told Playboy in 1978, per the book Dolly on Dolly. “That’s why I hire managers.”
She explained that they wouldn’t even talk about it when they were together. Instead, they focused on the topics they had in common.
“Carl and I only talk about our own things,” she said. “We talk about what we’re gonna do with the house, the farm. Or he wants me to see a truck he’s rebuilt.”
Dolly Parton said her husband’s disinterest in the entertainment industry worked for them
Early in Parton’s career, Dean joined her at an industry event. He felt so out of his element that he informed Parton it would be his last time joining her.
“He really felt out of place that night,” Parton said, per the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “So after we got home, he said, ‘Now I know this is what you want for your life, and I’m proud for you because I want you to have it if it makes you happy. But it doesn’t make me happy, and I don’t want to be part of it. I’m just too uncomfortable. It’s not me, and I can’t get involved in it.’”
This was never a problem for them, though. She got to embrace the spotlight, and he was able to stay out of it.
“I have a good business,” Dean said. “Dolly has her work and I have mine. We didn’t plan our lives to come out this way. It just snowballed. If I run for president one day, then I’ll talk about me. But Dolly is the one in the public eye, not me. If I went out looking for publicity, it would only detract from what she’s doing. And I’m not going to take anything away from her. She’s earned it.”
He continued to work despite her fame
Parton’s career brought in a great deal of money. Still, Dean continued to work to make a little money of his own.
“He works outside, he’s got his tractor and his grader, he keeps our farm in order,” she said. “He wouldn’t have to work no more, because I’m making good money now, but he gets up every morning at daylight. If he ain’t workin’ on our place, he’ll take a few jobs, like grading somebody’s driveway or cleaning off somebody’s property to pick up a couple of hundred bucks. He likes his own money to horse-trade with.”
People sometimes recognized him as her husband, but he didn’t let that stop him. Parton said he liked being able to work.
“He don’t go up and say, ‘Hey, I’m Dolly Parton’s husband, can I grade your drive?’” she said. “If somebody knows it, he don’t make a big thing of it; he’ll play it down, he’ll say, ‘Well, I ain’t in show business, I got to work, now what can I do for you?’ Or he’ll say, ‘Hell, she ain’t makin’ no money.’ He’s a man with a lot of pride; even though my money is his money, his money is mine.”
