Dean was famously private and would seldom appear in public, let alone with his famous wife. But Parton said he would come to her theme park, standing in line to buy a ticket just like other visitors to Dollywood. “He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket ‘cause he was Dolly’s husband,” she said.

The country superstar also spoke about adjusting to life without Carl Thomas Dean, who died on March 3 at the age of 82.

Dolly Parton has been seen for the first time since the death of her husband Carl Dean, as the country music icon returned to the stage for a concert in Nashville, Tennessee