Dolly Parton believes humour is key to a happy marriage

Dolly said on the 'Dumb Blonde' podcast: "He's quiet and I'm loud, and we're funny. 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."

The 'Jolene' hitmaker observed that humour is a great way to "break the tension".

She said: "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.

"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."

In 2020, Dolly revealed that she gets asked by fans if her husband actually exists.

The singer has always kept her marriage out of the spotlight, and some people still doubt if he's actually real.

She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all.

"It's just not who he is. He's like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he'd never get a minute's peace and he's right about that."