Dolly Parton Responds to Rumors That Her Husband Carl Thomas Dean Is Fake

Dolly Parton is speaking to the rumors that her husband of 54 years, Carl Dean, does not exist.

“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Dolly told ET. “It’s just not who he is. He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”

Dolly and Carl married in 1966 and he has never been part of the spotlight and very few photos of them together have been made public.

“I’ve always respected and appreciated that in him and I’ve always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can,” she added. “He said, ‘I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.’ And we do and we have. We’ve been together 56 years, married 54.”

“Our joke about the fact, when people ask me why it’s lasted this long, I say, ‘Because I stay gone.’ And there’s a lot of truth in that — the fact that we’re not in each other’s faces all the time,” Dolly continued. “But we do have a great respect and admiration for each other. We both have a great sense of humor. So, we have a lot of fun.”

Dolly‘s husband once said something that did absolutely shock Jennifer Aniston!