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Dolly Parton Reveals the Affair That Almost Ended Her Life

Dolly Parton is an iconic country singer. She’s also a sex symbol due to her glorious good looks and ample bosom. Dolly can get any man in the world she wants, yet she stays with one single man over the years. To make matters even stranger, the man that she marries to, Carl Dean, isn’t even fan of Dolly Parton! Still, Dolly remains consistently fixated on this man, with the exception of one moment where she compels to cheat. Join Facts Verse as Dolly Parton reveals the affair that almost ended her life.


Dolly Parton marries Carl Dean for over 50 years. The two met outside of a laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee, while Dolly was still new to the area. They hit it off immediately, meeting in 1964 and tying the knot by 1966.

Despite their long and passionate marriage, Carl hasn’t made very many public appearances alongside his wife. In fact, he claims to have watched her perform live on only a few occasions. It seems like the two aren’t especially close, they maintain a healthy marriage for over half of a century.

Dolly and Carl have never been ones to shy away from the truth about how they’ve managed to stay together. And that includes oftentimes being incredibly candid about marital transgressions. One of the things that keeps them together is trust. And that includes when one or the other has sexual feelings about another person.

Dolly cheats on her husband once, in an event that the singer describes as “an affair of the heart”. The affair occurred between her and one of her bandleaders, Gregg Perry. According to Dolly, she fell for the man due to how incredibly knowledgeable he was. However, it wasn’t a feeling that was completely reciprocated by Gregg himself.

Dolly is head over heels for Gregg, to the point where her best friend goes back to the military. So, she didn’t have to continue getting nauseous looking at the lovebirds. This best friend was Judy Ogle. And she has shared that she felt like a third wheel watching Dolly and Gregg’s romantic interactions.

Dolly and Gregg’s affair of the heart took a turn for the worse when Dolly encouraged Gregg to come help her write music for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Despite being a musical genius, the business side of the job drove Gregg insane. Far before completing his work, Gregg quit and abandoned both the project and Dolly. Understandably, Dolly was devastated. In fact, she was so hurt by Gregg leaving her that she seriously considered killing herself.

Dolly’s negative feelings about Gregg inspired her to write the song “What a Heartache”. However, writing that song didn’t completely end her pain. After writing it, Dolly found herself holding a gun and simply staring at it. Imagining what it might be like to pull the trigger. Before she can, her dog’s past and his presence remind Dolly that there’s more to life that she can appreciate.

Dolly has claimed that this dog, by the name of Popeye. And was acting as a spiritual messenger to try and help deliver her from the pain of her recent affair. She has remained incredibly grateful to Popeye and has respected his spiritual message by never having another extramarital affair. Join Facts Verse as Dolly Parton reveals the affair that almost ended her life.

Although Dolly has publicly shared the story of the affair that almost killed her. She has claimed that her husband Carl has never known anything about it. Even though she isn’t above pursuing an extramarital relationship, she’ll never tell her husband, out of fear of leaving her. Dolly may have some sexual feelings for others, Carl that will always be the true love of her life. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support. As well, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!

Despite Dolly’s notorious affair that almost ends her life, she and Carl maintain a perfect marriage for decades. That is, despite the fact that Carl has almost never been seen alongside Dolly in public. The two maintain a secretive marriage outside of the public eye, but that’s just the way that Carl likes it. The two have shared that they are almost complete opposites, with Dolly being very extroverted and Carl being very introverted. They’re comfortable with giving each other the freedom to live life and aren’t afraid to spend time apart.

When the two met at the aforementioned laundromat in Nashville, Dolly was 18 and Carl was 21. Dolly relocates to Nashville from the much smaller town of Sevierville in order to pursue her career in music. Neither she nor Carl could’ve known how successful she was going to become. However, both have shared that it was still love at first sight. Their first date was at a nearby McDonalds.

At the insistence of Dolly’s manager, she and Carl kept their wedding secret. The only guest at their wedding was Dolly’s mom. There’s a reason for the secrecy that Dolly’s manager feels that marrying might hurt her career. Due to the fact that so many members of Dolly’s potential audience want to marry the singer themselves.

Of course, Dolly was a gigantic superstar less than a decade into her and Carl’s marriage. However, Carl seems to have largely unaffected by his wife’s fame. Carl runs a local asphalt-paving company out of Nashville, and that’s all the celebrity that he has ever needed in his life. Carl has always stayed out of the limelight when it comes to his wife’s stardom, having only publicly appeared alongside her at an entertainment event on one single occasion. This was in 1966, at a BMI dinner celebrating Dolly’s early successes.

Despite the fact that Dolly and Carl have hit some bumps in the road during their long marriage, Dolly has shared that they’ve managed to make it work by maintaining openness and freedom. For Carl, this freedom means not having to attend his wife’s public events. For Dolly, this freedom means doing whatever she wants to, whether it be singing Jolene to an audience of thousands or flirting with other men. Join Facts Verse as Dolly Parton reveals the affair that almost ended her life.

While it might sound like Dolly and Carl don’t have a whole lot in common, that’s one of the things that Dolly loves most about her husband. She claims that they are nearly opposites, and opposite attract. She never knows what her husband is going to say next, even after 50 years. This spontaneity and excitement have kept Dolly hooked.

While Dolly likes to travel around the world and perform, her husband likes to sit around the house and watch TV. However, neither has ever taken an issue with the other one’s desire to do what they want. In fact, they have learned to love each other more than most couples as a result of accepting and embracing each other’s differences. Their shared freedom to do what they want without having to worry about how the other feels is one of the main things that has allowed their marriage to be so successful.

Spending lots of time doing their own thing has certainly helped Dolly and Carl appreciate the moments that they have together. It’s hard to imagine that Carl has never heard the story of Dolly’s affair, but he has certainly heard the rumors that Dolly cheated on him with her fellow The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas star Burt Reynolds. Rumors began following Dolly and Burt as soon as the film came out, and they eventually made their way to Carl. However, Carl simply laughed the rumors off.

Although there have been no stories of infidelity on Carl’s part, Dolly has shared that he has a bit of an obsession with actress Jennifer Anniston. Dolly enjoys teasing her husband about his celebrity crush, but Carl has never pursued his crush seriously. He could likely use Dolly’s star power and money to get in touch with Jennifer if he truly wanted, so the fact that he has never tried speaks volumes about the man’s love for Dolly. Dolly even recently featured on the soundtrack of Jennifer Aniston’s Netflix film Dumplin’, though this event likely didn’t allow Carl and Jennifer to meet.

Despite the fact that it may seem like Dolly and Carl don’t have a whole lot in common, Dolly has shared that the two share an incredibly strong (and somewhat twisted) sense of humor. The two are always laughing when they’re together, and always end up laughing it off whenever they get into a disagreement. Their adamancy to keep their relationship light and frivolous may not work for other married couples, but it has certainly worked for them!

Dolly loves touring around the world and singing, but she also appreciates returning home to her husband and spending peaceful nights eating country meals at their favorite low-key restaurants around town. They also like to go camping together, and Carl has never once complained about the big, fancy RV that his wife bought him with her singing money. The two have never had any children, but Dolly is the godmother of pop singer Miley Cyrus.


Casual fans of Dolly Parton may surprised to learn that the country icon even has a husband! Comment down below to share if you’re envious of the freedom that Dolly and Carl allow each other in their marriage, or if you’re shocked to learn that Dolly once nearly committed suicide after emotionally devastated by an extramarital affair. As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!

Written by Alex Carson

Alex Carson is a seasoned writer and cultural historian with a passion for the vibrant and transformative decades of the 1960s and 1970s. With a background in journalism and a deep love for music, film, and politics, Alex brings a unique perspective to the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment.

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