Plus, what Dolly said about her ‘loner’ late husband in the past

DOLLY Parton previously revealed the heartbreaking reason why she and her late husband Carl Dean never had children.

The country singer, 79, confirmed on Monday that her husband Carl Dean had sadly died at the age of 82.

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Dolly Parton was married to her late husband for almost six decadesCredit: Getty

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Dolly was diagnosed with endometriosis when she was in her early thirtiesCredit: Getty

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Dolly’s husband didn’t like being in the spotlight
Dolly and Carl fell in love and got married just two years after they locked eyes on one another, and the rest of their love story was history.

Dolly, who was 18 at the time, met her late husband, who was 21, outside their local launderette in the mid 60s.

Remaining together for almost 60 years, keeping their relationship out of the spotlight, and speaking fondly of one another whenever they got the chance – Dolly and Carl’s romance truly stood the test of time.

But oftentimes when their romance and marriage was spoken about in the public domain, people quizzed them on why they never had children.

There are two main reasons that Dolly and Carl never welcomed kids of their own – despite the country singer being a godmother to Miley Cyrus.

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Dolly is Miley Cyrus’ godmotherCredit: Getty

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Despite never having kids of her own, Dolly has been a mother figure to manyCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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Miley and Dolly have a very close bondCredit: Getty
In the 80s, when she was just 33, Dolly was diagnosed with endometriosis after she collapsed on stage.

Then, at the age of 36, Dolly had a partial hysterectomy.

In her book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, Dolly spoke about the operation she underwent and how it was a “dark time” for her.

DOLLY’S DARK TIME

“Suddenly I was a middle-aged woman,” she said, “I went through a dark time.”

However, Dolly added: “I haven’t missed it like I thought I might.

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“Now that Carl and I are older, we often say, ‘Aren’t you glad we didn’t have kids? Now we don’t have kids to worry about’.”

But her health woes were not the only reason she didn’t want to become a mother.

In a previous interview with Saga Magazine, Dolly spoke about how she wanted to focus on her career, hence why she didn’t want children.

“When you’re a young couple, you think you’re going to have kids, but it just wasn’t one of those burning things for me,” she said.

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Dolly wanted to focus on her career, which is another reason why she never had childrenCredit: AP

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Dolly is one of the most famous country music artists in the worldCredit: Getty

CAREER-FOCUSED COUNTRY ICON

“I had my career and my music and I was travelling. If I’d had kids, I’d have stayed at home with them. I’m sure and worried myself to death about them.”

She also said that she would “hate to be bringing a child into this world right now,” amid “everything that’s going on.”

Dolly also said: “I always say God didn’t let me have children so that all kids could be mine.”

Dolly shared a heartbreaking tribute to Carl following his passing.

Taking to Instagram to share her moving words, Dolly penned: “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together.

“Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.

“Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

Dolly did not reveal her husband’s cause of death but had previously been diagnosed with alzheimer’s disease in 2019.

DOLLY’S DEDICATED MAN

Carl was somewhat reclusive, with Dolly previously telling of how he was a bit of a “loner”.

Speaking to People around the time of their 50th anniversary in 2016, Dolly explained how he “doesn’t particularly care about being around anybody but me”.

She said: “He’s just always asked me to leave him out of all this. He does not like all the hullabaloo.”

The hitmaker also shared with Parade that her man was “very secure within himself”.

She told the outlet: “This is his statement: ‘Well, hell, I know it’s not easy out there. I’d feel less about any man that didn’t fall in love with you’.”

And in 2020 she revealed how he didn’t want to be in the spotlight “at all”.

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Dolly surprised her husband with a racy display in 2021 for his birthdayCredit: Instagram/dollyparton