Dolly Parton's husband Carl Dean is so eager to keep a low profile, he often tells house guests he's the hired help.

The lovebirds are preparing to celebrate 40 years of marriage on 30 May (06), but Dean has managed to duck the limelight, despite his wife's phenomenal success.

Parton says, "He's never been involved in the business. He likes staying home, that's not his world. He grew up in asphalt paving, that was his business.

"Now he just kind of hangs out on the farm. He doesn't like the limelight. And even if people come by the house and he's out mowing the yard, or something, and they say, 'Are you Carl Dean?' (He'll say) 'No, I'm the hired help.'

"But he loves me and he sees me as I am. He loved me before I was famous."