Dolly Parton’s ‘sacred and private’ marriage

Dolly Parton keeps her marriage "sacred and private".

The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker refuses to divulge details about her relationship with Carl Dean, who she wed in 1966, and believe that is the secret to their long romance.

She said: "My husband is not one who wants to be just thrown out there. He’s very private, and I’ve always respected that for him and about him. And so, we just try to live our lives.

"Everybody is not entitled to every single thing you do and thought you think, although I do share as much of my life as I possibly can. I’m not holding back any information, but there are just some things that are sacred and private. I do think that’s had a lot to do with it. If we had fallen victim to every tabloid story and all that – we just try to find the humor in it."

And the 70-year-old singer insists she isn’t just a "character" when she’s on stage and is very similar in real life, just a bit quieter.

She added to Vogue.com: "I don’t turn on and off. If I’m out in public, I have to be really on, and more vocal, and present myself. But I have this other side to me that’s very quiet.

"Sometimes I can go a whole day without saying anything. My best friend, Judy, and my husband, Carl, when we’re comfortable, we might not say much of anything. But I’m not a different person – I’m just a little quieter."

Meanwhile, Dolly and Carl recently renewed their wedding vow to celebrate 50 years of marriage, where they decided to sell pictures from it to raise money for children’s charities

She said at the time: "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."