Speaking on why this was the case, Dolly told CMT in 2016: “Everyone at my label — Monument Records and Fred Foster — had invested money in me and in building my career, so they asked me if I’d wait a year to get married.
“And I didn’t want to not do what I was supposed to do.”
The couple were rarely seen together, and despite appearing on her record sleeve for her album My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy, Carl refused to go to many events, which Dolly has said came from an agreement between them.
Not much is known about their relationship, however, Carl has been the muse behind some of Dolly’s famous hits, including Jolene and From Here to the Moon and Back.
Speaking in a rare interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dean said of their first meeting: “My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl.’ My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin.’
“And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth.”
This interview came in time for their 50th wedding anniversary, for which the pair exchanged their vows again in a far more lavish ceremony.
This year, the couple celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary, and still look to be going strong.