Dolly Parton’s nightmare
After 52 years of marriage, the country music queen and her hubby aren’t seeing eye to eye
They’ve weathered many storms in their marriage, but according to friends of Dolly Parton and her husband Carl Dean, the latest troubles in their household may finally see an end to the duo’s long-lasting union.
Despite having renewed their vows at the chapel in the grounds of their Nashville home in May 2016, to mark their 50th wedding anniversary, insiders say Carl, 76, has finally snapped over his 72-year-old wife’s relentless flirting with other men – and even with another woman, too.
And if divorce is on the cards, the split could cost Tennessee’s singing queen more than $500 million! “I love to flirt, and I’ve never met a man I didn’t like,” the 9 To 5 singer once admitted. “Men are my weakness. Short, fat, bald or skinny – I’ve had crushes on some very unusual men.”
It’s an attitude that has worn thin on Carl, say friends.
“Carl is very traditional, and while he accepts Dolly’s relentless touring and appearances to promote herself, there are certain things he can’t tolerate,” an insider close to the pair tells Woman’s Day.
Over the years, there have been whisperings that Dolly has bedded several men including Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds and her duet partner Kenny Rogers.
She was also the subject of rumours over her close bond with longtime best friend Judy Ogle, who even moved into the couple’s home after they wed in 1966.
OPEN MARRIAGE
While Dolly laughed off the idea that she and Judy were more than just friends, it’s another murmur that is said to sting for Carl.
“He’s turned a blind eye to so much over the last 50 years. Affairs of the heart and, if rumours are to be believed, of the flesh, too,” adds our insider. “Dolly’s always been a flirt, and he’s never liked seeing her cosy up to co-stars.”
For decades, the couple – who never had children – have been subject to conjecture that their marriage is an open one. Talking to a US magazine last year, Dolly’s aunt Ora Dale said it’s common knowledge among their friends and family.
“Dolly goes around telling people how she and Carl have an open marriage,” spilled the relative. “She says she’s not jealous and neither is he – but it’s just not true.”
While Dolly has never addressed the salacious tale directly, she has however admitted their relationship came under intense pressure in the late 1980s when she had what she called an “affair of the heart” with another man, believed to be her former band leader Gregg Perry.
After it ended in heartbreak, she revealed that she thought about ending her own life.
“I was sitting upstairs in my bedroom one afternoon when I noticed in the nightstand drawer my gun that I keep for burglars. I looked at it for a long time,” she confesses in her book Dolly On Dolly: Interviews And Encounters with Dolly Parton.
“I don’t think I’d have done it,
‘Men are my weakness. Short, fat, bald or skinny’
killed myself, but I can’t say for sure. Now that I’ve gone through that terrible moment, I can certainly understand the possibilities, even for someone solid like me, if the pain gets bad enough.”
Carl has long taken a back seat to his famous wife and is rarely photographed with her. He has almost never attended her shows, with Dolly explaining his absences on a fear of flying along with the fact he “doesn’t like crowds”.
“I think he’s also afraid I’ll mess up during the show and won’t know what to do about it,” she adds.
Instead, the reclusive Carl, who once ran his own asphaltlaying company, prefers spending time close to home. But while he may prefer the simple life, friends warn the songstress shouldn’t be complacent about the impact the $500 million-plus split could have on her bank balance.
“He’d certainly have a claim on his hands for a chunk of her fortune,” says one insider.