Dolly Parton’s reclusive hubby Carl Thomas Dean set to appear in public for anniversary party

DOLLY Parton’s reclusive husband of almost 50 years hasn’t been seen in public for years. Now, he is set to join the country superstar to declare his love for her.

Undated publicity pic of US singer Dolly Parton.

DOLLY Parton’s reclusive husband of almost 50 years hasn’t been seen in public for years. Now, he is set to join the country superstar to declare his love for her.

While there is believed to be only about 30 photos of Parton and her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, that have been published, the 73-year-old has reportedly agreed to appear onstage to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in May.

From the vault ... Dolly Parton and her rarely seen husband Carl Thomas Dean. Picture: Supplied

Dean owns and operates a road repair company in Tennessee and will join his 69-year-old wife when she performs at their Willow Lake Plantation home.

Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus made the announcement, saying Dean will be there “not to sing just to be there, at her side, in the spotlight.”

Early years ... Dolly Parton and husband Carl Dean in their young years in Nashville in the early 70s. Picture: Supplied

The couple met in 1964 shortly after Parton had moved to Nashville to try to make a career as a singer. Parton, then 18, was at the laundromat when Dean started chatting her up.

They married two years later.

“They say that opposites attract, and it’s true,” Parton told People magazine. “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.

Close ... Dolly Parton, who is Miley Cyrus’ godmother, has been accused of having an affair with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Picture: Supplied

“My husband is a good man, first of all,” she continues. “He loves to go on vacation or on little trips, but he doesn’t want to be gone a long time.

“He wants to be mostly around the house. He knows I’m just the opposite. I can’t go enough places. I can’t do enough things. He loves that. He’s independent. He doesn’t need me in his face, and it’s the same with me,” she said. “But when we’re together, we have enough things in common that it works. We love the simple life. We can be calm and just have a good time.”

Their unconventional marriage has prompted speculation that it may be an open marriage.

Affair rumours ... Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton is The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Picture: Supplied

Parton has been accused of having affairs with frequent collaborator Kenny Rogers, Billy Ray Cyrus, the father of her goddaughter and Burt Reynolds, who she starred with in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

She has even been accused of having a secret lesbian affair with Judy Ogle, her personal assistant and childhood friend.

Closer than a married couple ... Dolly Parton and her best friend Judy Ogle, who have known each other since they were children. Picture: Supplied

Parton described their bond in her 1994 autobiography as “closer than husband and wife”.

“Judy is the only person that Carl doesn’t mind coming in and out of our house,” she said.

“We have never, you know, been lovers, and yet, we have shared more things than most couples do, and we’ve slept together since we were little kids, you know, just like my sisters and I do.”

Parton says Ogle travels with her because Dean hates crowds and doesn’t warm to people easily.

Maybe Parton is happy for Dean to stay reclusive — he is after all the person she wrote the song Jolene about in which she begs another woman not to take her man.