Dolly Parton gives update on life with husband of almost 60 years — ‘I need to be with my family’

Dolly Parton may be one of the most celebrated stars of all time, but behind closed doors her life is remarkably down-to-earth. 

The “Jolene” singer has been married to Carl Dean since 1966, yet he prefers life firmly away from the spotlight. 

Dolly offered up rare insight into their marriage and their plans for the holidays in a new interview with E! News. 

While she has an astounding net worth of $650 million, the festive season doesn’t bring an abundance of fancy gifts with hefty price tags. 

“Carl and I have never bought big fancy presents for each other,” she revealed. “When I see things through the years that I think he would like, when I’m out, I’ll just kind of collect stuff and give them to him.”

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 They gifts are thoughtful with Dolly focusing on his hobbies and “what he does.”

“He loves to work over at the barn,” Dolly shared of her ultra-private longtime partner. “He also loves to work outside. So, I’m always buying tools of different kinds.” 

In turn, Carl buys his famous wife gifts from the heart. 

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“He knows I love to cook when I’m home,” she told the outlet. “He always buys me something for the kitchen. A new pot or a new pan or some kind of something he’s seen on TV he thinks I might like.

​“We just buy practical things. We don’t worry about it, either.”

Despite her jam-packed schedule, Dolly said: “I have never missed Christmas,” with her loved ones, and this year will be no different. 

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“I try to book all my things beforehand [and] say, ‘Do not book me, certainly for the week of Christmas, ’cause I need to be home with my family.’”

She said that time is “sacred,” and they’ll “visit family and friends in East Tennessee,” before “visiting Carl’s family some, and then we’ll just have all that food.”

Ahead of the holidays, Dolly opened up to HELLO! and detailed her low-key life with Carl. 

“I don’t go out that much and just live a simple life actually,” she confessed. “I look like a party doll but I’m pretty much a homebody when I’m not working; I love to be at home. I love to cook and read, and do piddly things around the house, womanly things.  

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“My husband and I have always enjoyed each other,” she adds. “I love to do stuff with him; we have a little RV and like to travel around, especially in Tennessee – we love to get out just for the weekend or day trips. We’ve been all over the country in it.”  

Dolly, who soon marks her 60th anniversary with Carl — they tied the knot when she was 20 and he was 23 after dating for two years —credits mutual respect and a good sense of humor as among the secret ingredients to their happy marriage.