Dolly's Secret Heartbreak

AFTER 53 YEARS TOGETHER, COUNTRY LEGEND DOLLY PARTON IS FACING HER BIGGEST MARRIAGE CRISIS —HUSBAND CARL IS SUFFERING FROM AN INCURABLE MALADY.

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THE secret to Dolly Parton’s long marriage? “We respect each other,” the country legend tells Star. And make each other laugh. Chatting at the Oct. 30 premiere of her Netflix series, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, she said of her beloved husband, Carl Dean, “Oh, he makes me laugh all the time. We both have a warped sense of humor. It’s one of the things that’s kept us together all of this time.”

But the always bubbly star was hiding a secret heartbreak. Her husband of 53 years is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, an incurable condition that attacks the brain. “It’s early,” confirms a source. “It doesn’t seem in a bad stage yet, but he has it.” Now the loving couple are preparing for the worst, leaning on friends and getting their financial affairs in order. And Dolly, 73, is doing what she does best: throwing herself into work. “That’s why she’s been so busy of late,” the friend says of Dolly, who cohosted the CMA awards on Nov. 13, “to distract herself.”