# Dolly Parton: Marriage and EA



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

I've ordered the autobiography by Dolly Parton from Amazon. I'm a big fan of hers. I was surprised to hear she had an EA a long while ago...surprised in that it was just an EA and not several PAs considering how much she and her husband were apart. That had to be a tough slog being married that long with no kids. 


Dolly Parton says faith saved her marriage to longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean


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## I shouldnthave (Apr 11, 2018)

I think Dolly Parton is a cool cat - but admit, I do not know that much about her personal life / marriage. 

I would imagine life on tour is a strain on romantic relationships. Affairs are often symptoms, of inner conflicts, issues in the relationship etc. Sounds like she went through some personal struggles - and found emotional support in the wrong place. 

Its funny you say you are surprised it never went physical. I think for many women, an emotional affair is a bigger betrayal than a physical one. From what I see, men tend to feel the opposite. 



bandit.45 said:


> That had to be a tough slog being married that long with no kids.


Why do you say that? I understand that she wanted children, so not being able to have them was difficult for her. It was her infertility that caused it, not his, so it is not like marrying someone else would have fixed that issue. 

But that said, having children certainly isn't always the path to marital bliss nor longevity. A number of studies have pointed to child free couples as being happier, while others show "very little difference". The trend is not for couples with children to be the happiest. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...on-childfree-couples-are-happier-couples-kids



> What the Scientists Found
> 
> The myth of the bonding effect of babies on marriage has been shattered through well-documented research. The American Sociological Association recently conducted a study on this very topic and found that parents are more likely to be depressed than their childfree counterparts. In fact, people without kids were happier than any other group, including empty nesters.
> 
> A 2009 New York Times article documented two decades of research examining the impact of children on marriage. The conclusion was that marital quality often drops after the transition into parenthood, and that there is an increase in marital happiness after the children leave home.


https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/06/health/parents-happiness-child-free-studies/index.html



> A report by Princeton University and Stony Brook University published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found "very little difference" between the life satisfaction of parents and people without kids, once other factors -- such as income, education, religion and health -- were factored out


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## TAMAT (Jun 20, 2015)

I can imagine how crazy it would make the spouse of a Celebrity having to deal with tons of people wanting to exert influence over their husband or wife.

Perhaps this is why Celebs often marry other Celebs.


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## NextTimeAround (Dec 15, 2011)

Guess Jolene was the least of her problems.....


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## Pepe1970 (Aug 25, 2017)

bandit.45 said:


> I've ordered the autobiography by Dolly Parton from Amazon. I'm a big fan of hers. I was surprised to hear she had an EA a long while ago...surprised in that it was just an EA and not several PAs considering how much she and her husband were apart. That had to be a tough slog being married that long with no kids.
> 
> 
> Dolly Parton says faith saved her marriage to longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean


Go Dolly!!!
Who would know?
I think she still remained faithful in spite of that EA.
Few men have the honor of having a woman like that.

Sent from my QMV7A using Tapatalk


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## Pepe1970 (Aug 25, 2017)

I shouldnthave said:


> I think Dolly Parton is a cool cat - but admit, I do not know that much about her personal life / marriage.
> 
> I would imagine life on tour is a strain on romantic relationships. Affairs are often symptoms, of inner conflicts, issues in the relationship etc. Sounds like she went through some personal struggles - and found emotional support in the wrong place.
> 
> ...


Excuse me ma'am. I was wondering if you allow me permission to exchange a few PM with you.

Sent from my QMV7A using Tapatalk


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

Pepe1970 said:


> Go Dolly!!!
> Who would know?
> I think she still remained faithful in spite of that EA.
> Few men have the honor of having a woman like that.
> ...


How can you say she remained faithful and had an emotional affair?
It’s either one or the other.
Or was she, as a ons told me one morning “faithful Lots of times”.


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## personofinterest (Apr 6, 2018)

Anyone who dismisses her marriage and her decades of success over this revelation is just silly. I get it, infidelity sucks. It's not the apocalypse - it is one brief period and one small facet of her past.


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## karole (Jun 30, 2010)

I remember hearing years ago that they had an open marriage, I guess that isn't the case?

I love Dolly too. She does so much for children and her community. When the fires destroyed so many homes a couple years ago around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, she helped out so many families financially. She also provides numerous scholarships for kids. I think she is a genuinely good person. 

I love that she speaks her mind and is true to her convictions.


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## StillSearching (Feb 8, 2013)

Let's don't just give her a pass because she's a celebrity.
We would not let any other WS she "Hey, it was just a EA" Never got physical.
She's on the road. She's hot. She's got guys left and right......ok.
Mick Jagger was faithful too.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

personofinterest said:


> Anyone who dismisses her marriage and her decades of success over this revelation is just silly. I get it, infidelity sucks. It's not the apocalypse - it is one brief period and one small facet of her past.


As far as I can see not one poster has dismissed either her marriage or her decades of success. 
Strawman argument me thinks.


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## personofinterest (Apr 6, 2018)

Andy1001 said:


> As far as I can see not one poster has dismissed either her marriage or her decades of success.
> Strawman argument me thinks.


Just wait lol


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## Yeswecan (Jul 25, 2014)

bandit.45 said:


> I've ordered the autobiography by Dolly Parton from Amazon. I'm a big fan of hers. I was surprised to hear she had an EA a long while ago...surprised in that it was just an EA and not several PAs considering how much she and her husband were apart. That had to be a tough slog being married that long with no kids.
> 
> 
> Dolly Parton says faith saved her marriage to longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean


From my understanding her H was also getting busy. I think they both accepted it. Just a guess.


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## sokillme (Jun 10, 2016)

karole said:


> I remember hearing years ago that they had an open marriage, I guess that isn't the case?
> 
> I love Dolly too. She does so much for children and her community. When the fires destroyed so many homes a couple years ago around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, she helped out so many families financially. She also provides numerous scholarships for kids. I think she is a genuinely good person.
> 
> I love that she speaks her mind and is true to her convictions.


Yeah I heard that to. The book was probably written by a PR person anyway. I know it's nice to think that famous people are just like us but their not. Their lives are completely different.


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## TJW (Mar 20, 2012)

StillSearching said:


> We would not let any other WS she "Hey, it was just a EA" Never got physical.


No, I would not let any WS, not even a celebrity WS, make any such statement as this self-excuse.

But I also can see where her faith kept her from going farther, and I'm so delighted to hear that she gives God the glory.
I hear "ownership" in her report, and I hear that she considers it a personal failure. She clearly blames herself, not her husband, but her own rebellion and sinful desire for it.

If I were her husband, this would go a long way toward wanting reconciliation, for me.....this is, like the other thread is talking about now, a "get it"....


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## StillSearching (Feb 8, 2013)

TJW said:


> No, I would not let any WS, not even a celebrity WS, make any such statement as this self-excuse.
> 
> But I also can see where her faith kept her from going farther, and I'm so delighted to hear that she gives God the glory.
> I hear "ownership" in her report, and I hear that she considers it a personal failure. She clearly blames herself, not her husband, but her own rebellion and sinful desire for it.
> ...


I was implying she is a liar, not making an self-excuse.
But that's just my experience. 
If it was Pre-cell phones, which I'm sure it was, they had to be face to face. Unless they were just sending letters?


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## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

personofinterest said:


> Anyone who dismisses her marriage and her decades of success over this revelation is just silly. I get it, infidelity sucks. It's not the apocalypse - it is one brief period and one small facet of her past.


I think her love for her husband won out in the end. I dunno...we'll have to read the book. The article doesn't mention whether or not her husband Carl was having affairs on the side. I wouldn't be surprised if he had, but who knows? Not having your wife around for weeks at a time can get lonely. I do know that he ran his own contracting company and was pretty much his own man, so he had something to occupy his time. He didn't take any money from Dolly, or live off her, so I can see why she respects him.


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## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

karole said:


> I remember hearing years ago that they had an open marriage, I guess that isn't the case?
> 
> I love Dolly too. She does so much for children and her community. When the fires destroyed so many homes a couple years ago around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, she helped out so many families financially. She also provides numerous scholarships for kids. I think she is a genuinely good person.
> 
> I love that she speaks her mind and is true to her convictions.


She's insanely talented too. She wrote every hit song she ever sang. Very, very few country artists can boast writing all their own hits.


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## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Yeswecan said:


> From my understanding her H was also getting busy. I think they both accepted it. Just a guess.


I wouldn't be surprised if he was hitting up Jolene for booty calls while Dolly was on the road.


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## I shouldnthave (Apr 11, 2018)

Pepe1970 said:


> Excuse me ma'am. I was wondering if you allow me permission to exchange a few PM with you.


Sure... although your settings say that you do not accept PMs.


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## Pepe1970 (Aug 25, 2017)

I shouldnthave said:


> Sure... although your settings say that you do not accept PMs.


I am very sorry, I'm a little bit of an old school with technology but I'll contact the website host to do the settings.

Sent from my QMV7A using Tapatalk


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## Dyokemm (Apr 24, 2013)

I remember reading somewhere years ago that her M was an open one, but that her and her H both kept that fact quiet and their ‘activities’ very private.

Always struck me as a little odd given how openly religious she has always been.......

Probably why it was always kept so quiet by her.....a large part of her fan base would probably reacted very negatively to such a revelation.

I always liked her music.....but I gave up my religious upbringing years ago so when I first read about this I was ‘meh.....who cares.....it’s her and her H’s business’.

But career-wise, I can see where she needed to show a lot of discretion.


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## VermiciousKnid (Nov 14, 2017)

It's cool when any type of show business people stay married for the long haul. It's so rare in the music and film industry that it's refreshing when they can do it. I do, however, hate finding out things about cheating with starts I've admired. I always touted Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's marriage. It was an exception to the Hollywood norm and I loved it. Then I read a biography on Paul Newman and learned he was married and had a family when he met Joanne Woodward in their agent's office. He began an affair with her almost immediately and then left his family for her. That really disappointed me. For decades I had labored under the delusion that he wasn't a typical Hollywood guy. That he was better than them. I guess not.


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## personofinterest (Apr 6, 2018)

VermiciousKnid said:


> It's cool when any type of show business people stay married for the long haul. It's so rare in the music and film industry that it's refreshing when they can do it. I do, however, hate finding out things about cheating with starts I've admired. I always touted Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's marriage. It was an exception to the Hollywood norm and I loved it. Then I read a biography on Paul Newman and learned he was married and had a family when he met Joanne Woodward in their agent's office. He began an affair with her almost immediately and then left his family for her. That really disappointed me. For decades I had labored under the delusion that he wasn't a typical Hollywood guy. That he was better than them. I guess not.


His affair was absolutely wrong. It was shameful.

It is a shame, however, that particular marriage forums define all of someone's personhood by whether or not they ever, in their entire lives, cheated. An *"affairage" *is not good, but after 30 plus years, I think strangers should get over it.


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