Dolly Parton and Carl Dean have renewed their wedding vows after 50 years of marriage.
The couple, who tied the knot on May 30, 1966, recently celebrated their Golden Anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee and the fiercely private pair have decided to sell the pictures from the ceremony to raise money to benefit children’s charities.
Dolly, 70, who recently kicked off her ‘Pure & Simple Tour’, said: "If I had it to do all over, I’d do it all over again, and we did. I’m dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years. Wish us luck. In all honesty, the only way I was able to get Carl to do any of this in the first place was that it was a great opportunity for us to raise money for some very worthy causes."
And although 73-year-old Carl – a businessman who ran an asphalt-laying company – has shunned the limelight despite being married to one of the biggest stars in the world, he agreed to do his first interview to go along with the pictures.
Speaking about his reaction the first time he saw Dolly, Carl said: "My first thought was I’m gonna marry that girl. My second thought was, Lord she’s good lookin’. And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth."
The couple tied the knot in 1966, after two years of dating, in a small ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia, in front of just Dolly’s mother.
The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker previously admitted her spouse prefers to live his life in private because he is a "loner".
She said: "My husband is a loner. He doesn’t particularly care about being around anybody but me. He’s just always asked me to leave him out of all this. He does not like all the hullabaloo."
However, Dolly has insisted Carl – who she met at the Wishy Washy Laundromat when she moved to Nashville in 1964 – is incredibly supportive of her.
She said: "He’s always been supportive. He’s like a brother and a father and a friend and a husband and a lover – all of those things to me. I think he’s kind of proud that we’ve been in it this long!"
Those looking to obtain rights to the vow-renewal ceremony images can email: [email protected].
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean renew wedding vows
