Country sweetheart Dolly Parton, 79, has been dealing with the sad passing of her husband, Carl Dean, who died on Monday, March 3. He was 82 years old. Now, Parton has made her first public appearance since Dean's death.

Dolly Parton married businessman Carl Thomas Dean in 1966. In March 2025, she announced her late husband's death. Learn more about him here.

Dolly Parton has sung for decades with her loyal husband Carl Dean by her side. The two met in the early 1960s and it was love at first sight. The two met on Dolly’s first day in Nashville, Tennessee in 1964 at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat.