Dolly Parton Reveals the Real Reason Husband Carl Dean Doesn't Attend Public Events With Her

You won't catch Dolly Parton's husband attending any red carpets from 9 to 5—or any other time, for that matter.

The "Jolene" singer got candid on why fans rarely see her husband of 57 years out at public events with her.

"Carl has never been in the limelight and all, never wanted to be in it," Dolly shared on her Apple Music radio show What Would Dolly Do?. "He don't like it."

Dolly recalled one moment in particular—shortly after the couple tied the knot in 1966—that swayed Carl to stick to making precious memories at home.

"He went to one thing with me early on when we first married to a BMI Song of the Year, and he came out there taking off his tuxedo, his tie, and all that, and said, 'Don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain't going,'" she reflected. "I never asked him and he never did." 

But one thing Dolly can count on is the Vigorish actor being upfront when it comes to his opinions of her music.

"I had done a couple of things in the past, just some rock things. He said, 'It's okay. It's okay.' He's very honest," she shared. "We have such a great relationship. I know not to ask him if I don't want an honest answer."

In fact, Dolly was open to recording a rendition of a song by Carl's favorite band, Led Zeppelin—but he wasn't too keen on the idea.

"Years ago, I was doing covers of some of these rock albums in a more bluegrass country way," she explained, "and I told him I was doing 'Stairway to Heaven.' He said, 'I don't think you need to do that,' and I said how I was going to do it."

And although the Grammy winner went ahead and recorded the tune, she didn't garner Carl's stamp of approval.

Dolly remembered: "I played it for him and he said, 'It's okay.' He said, 'Are you sure that's ‘Stairway to Heaven' or ‘Stairwell to Hell?''"

But that isn't to say the country star doesn't have other tricks up her sleeve to keep her decades-long marriage intact.

Back in October, Dolly revealed the beauty hack she's been doing for years to look her best while spending time with her husband.

"When I arrived in L.A. in the '80s," Dolly wrote in her book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, per Insider, "I started sleeping with my makeup on, partly because of the earthquakes. I thought, 'I'm not heading out on the streets without makeup in case there are cameras out there! I'm going to be ready to go!'"

It's a rule that folded over into her marriage. As she put it: "I don't want to go to bed looking like a hag with Carl."

And to see Dolly's best looks over the rockin' years, keep scrolling...

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