Dolly Parton’s secret to a 60-year marriage: stay apart
Dolly Parton credits space and independent living—summed up by her two-word quip “Stay gone!”—as the secret to her 60-year marriage to Carl Dean, who died in 2025. The couple, who eloped in 1966, maintained separate lives and travels but cherished time together, a dynamic she says helped them stay close for decades.