Dolly Parton and Carl Dean's Relationship Timeline: Their Nearly 60 Years of Marriage Explored

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean first met at the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville in 1964.

In a 1976 interview with The New York Times, the 79-year-old country singer said she would come to the city with her dirty laundry.

"I was in such a hurry to get here — and after I'd put my clothes in the machine, I started walkin' down the street, just lookin' at my new home, and this guy hollered at me, and I waved," Parton recalled. "Bein' from the country, I spoke to everybody. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband."

Dean, on the other hand, said his first thought upon seeing Parton was: "I'm gonna marry that girl."

He added, "My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin.' And that was the day my life began."

Their relationship quickly progressed after their paths crossed, with Dean visiting her every day and sitting with her on the porch as she watched her aunt and uncle's son while they were at work.

"That was my first chance to go anywhere with Carl, and he drove me straight to his folks' house and introduced me to his mother and daddy," Parton said of the day when she did not have to babysit. "'Cause he said he knew right the minute he saw me that that's the one he wanted."

Speaking in a 2008 interview with NPR, Parton revealed her song "Jolene," which she released in 1973, was about a local bank teller who "got this terrible crush" on Dean.

"And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, 'H---, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money.' So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one," she shared.

Parton described Dean as "sort of shy and quiet" amid their ultra-private marriage.

"What we have together is so sweet and good that I'd never want it to get jumbled up with the other," she noted while appearing on the cover of People in 1977.

Parton refuted the claims about her alleged romantic involvement with her best friend and longtime companion Judy Ogle in a 1997 interview with Out Magazine.

"People think because she's never married that she must be a l------, and because we've been together, that we must be lovers," Parton addressed the claims. "But the fact is, I think Judy would rather be called a l------ than an old maid. If I was g--, I'd certainly never find a finer person than Judy as a mate. I'm as close to her just about as I am with (my) husband."

The "A Vision of Mother" songstress eventually fired Ogle because it was the "best thing" to do at the time.

While Parton and Dean decided to keep their marriage out of the spotlight, the "After the Gold Rush" singer gushed about him in an interview, calling him a "good man" and a "deep person" with "a great and warped sense of humor."

"He makes me laugh and entertains me. He's very secure within himself," she told People in March 2015.

At the time, she also shared their differing personalities helped them keep things exciting, explaining, "They say that opposites attract, and it's true. We're completely opposite, but that's what makes it fun. I never know what he's gonna say or do. He's always surprising me."

Parton and Dean renewed their vows at their Nashville home on May 30, 2016, 50 years after their 1966 nuptials.

"We had a few family and friends around. We didn't plan anything big at all because we didn't want any kind of strain, any kind of tension, any kind of commotion, so we planned it cleverly and carefully," she told Rolling Stone. "We just had just a few people who needed to be there to make sure they got the pictures and the few things that we needed. We just had fun with it."

They enjoyed their RV honeymoon after the celebration.

In August 2016, Parton released her album Pure and Simple, which she made for Dean. The material included three songs she particularly wrote about him: "Forever Love," "Tomorrow Is Forever" and "Say Forever You'll Be Mine."

A few years after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, the "Here You Come Again" singer revealed the secret to their lasting marriage.

"We both have a warped sense of humor. And I think humor, honestly, is one of the best things when you're married like that. Even if you have a problem, if you have a great sense of humor, if you say something you can't take back [you] usually have some crazy way of getting out of it," she told ET Canada.

According to Parton, having different interests also helped them keep their marriage healthy.

On the final episode of "What Would Dolly Do? Radio," the singer-songwriter exposed why Dean avoided the spotlight amid her success and popularity.

"Carl has never been in the limelight and all, never wanted to be in it. He don't like it," she declared. "He went to one thing with me early on, when we first married, to a BMI Song of the Year [event], and he came out of there taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that and said, 'Don't ever ask me to go to another one of these d--- things because I ain't going.' I never asked him and he never did."

During an appearance on Bunnie Xo's podcast, Parton said their humor broke any tension that came up between her and Dean.

"We never fought back and forth. And I'm glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing. I've seen it with so many people, and I thought, 'I ain't ever starting that.' I couldn't bear to think that he'd say something I couldn't take ... because I'm a very sensitive person toward other people and myself," the "Heartbreaker" songstress said.

Parton confirmed the death of her husband of nearly 60 years in a statement shared on Instagram and X. He was 82.

"Carl and I spent many wonderful years together," said the legendary singer. "Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy."

According to the statement, Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony attended by immediate family members. A cause of death was not shared.