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Dolly Parton Shares Thanksgiving Throwback Thursday Photo With Husband Carl Dean

Country superstar Dolly Parton is ringing in Thanksgiving with a throwback picture of herself and her husband Carl Dean, both looking sharp.

“Happy #Thanksgiving from me and mine to you and yours ❤️,” Parton tweeted Thursday.

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean Met Cute

The queen of country met her future husband when she was barely 18 and had just left the town where she grew up – Sevierville, Tennesee – for Nashville. It was the first day after her big move, and Parton went to the Wishy Washy laundromat to do her laundry.

According to Country Living, Parton was outside the laundromat and clad in a rather skimpy outfit when Dean, who was then 21, drove by in his Chevy pickup truck. He called out to Parton, and when she came over to talk to him, he told her she was going to pick up a sunburn in that outfit.

Their conversation continued as Parton went back into the laundromat to fold her clothes. And more than 50 years later, it still hasn’t ended. Parton later said she was “surprised and delighted” that Dean looked her in the eye when he talked to her (“a rare thing for me”) and seemed sincerely interested in getting to know her as a person.

For Dean, it was love at first sight. “My first thought was I’m gonna marry that girl,” he said in a statement in 2016, on their 50th wedding anniversary. “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.”

Speaking of Parton’s Husband, the Singer Just Released New ‘Jolene’ Remix

But Dolly Parton’s marriage has not been without its trials. Case in point: A female bank teller once developed a crush on Dean, and started going out of her way to make his visits to the bank as pleasant as possible. “I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money,’” Parton told NPR in 2008. The woman’s pull on her husband became the inspiration for Parton’s song “Jolene,” about a would-be homewrecker who’s trying to steal the singer’s husband.

The song received two Grammy nominations for Best Female Country Performance, one Grammy win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (with Pentatonix) and ultimately made it to No. 63 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

And on Nov. 12, in partnership with RCA/Sony Music Entertainment, Parton released the “Jolene (DESTRUCTO Remix).” Working with DJ and electronic music producer DESTRUCTO, Parton reimagined “Jolene” as house music, keeping every verse of the original in the remix, per Broadway World.

“My little song ‘Jolene’ has been done so many different ways and I love them all, but I think this one is my favorite,” Parton said in a statement. “It makes me want to dance! How about you!?”

Not a bad idea. After all, dancing to Dolly Parton tunes is a good way to work off those Thanksgiving calories.