Dolly Parton reveals the secret of her 58-year-old long marriage with husband: “We never did…”

Dolly Parton, American singer opened up about the pillars of the marriage which helped sustain it for 58 years.

Differences of opinion in relationships sometimes cause arguments, which may predict a potential split in the future. Arguing is one of the bitter parts of a relationship, like a sudden speedbreaker to an otherwise smooth journey. Dolly Parton, the American singer and songwriter, opened up on Fox News to share the secret of her 58-year-old marriage to Carl Thomas Dean and how they avoid arguments. The couple tied the knot in 1966 and stayed together all these years with the help of mutual respect, sensitivity and good humour.

Humour, the saviour

The 78-year-old country music star revealed how humour helped ease tension, stopping arguments before they escalated too far. She said on the show of Bunnie Xo's "Dumb Blonde" podcast, “He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny," she told Jelly Roll's wife on the podcast. "Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other [and] we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun. Anytime [there’s] too much tension going on, either one of us can like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far." A good joke can shift the mood and prevent a small disagreement from turning into something more serious. It diffuses the tension, keeping things lighthearted.

Never went ‘back and forth’

The back-and-forth of arguments is particularly concerning, doing more damage to the relationship. One person says something and the other retorts even more viciously. This is a never-ending cycle of jabs and insults. Dolly Parton recounted how she and her husband never indulge in the back-and-forth arguments and fights in their relationship. She said, “We never fought back and forth. And I’m glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing. I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that.’ I couldn’t bear to think that he’d say something I couldn’t take… because I’m a very sensitive person toward other people and myself."

This indicates the importance of diffusing tension with care and sensitivity, not with equal animosity to spite the partner. Back-and-forth arguments can even turn into a competition as to who can come up with a bigger insult but it drives the relationship to a point of no return.