I’m married to Dolly Parton: Husband of impersonator says life and home is ‘utterly dominated’ by country singer

The husband of a famous Dolly Parton impersonator has said his life is “dominated” by the legendary country singer and his home is full of bright blonde wigs and costumes.

Ben Verinder and his wife Kelly O’Brien, both 50, met in 2007 but had no idea their lives would soon be “completely and utterly dominated” by the American singer, songwriter and actress Dolly Parton.

Kelly had been performing as an award-winning country singer for years, but it was not until she impersonated Dolly “for a laugh” at a 40th birthday party that she discovered the true extent of her talents.

Since then, Kelly’s career has taken off and she has toured the globe as a Dolly Parton tribute and impersonator, with Ben working “nine to five” to help manage her show, logistics and financials.

Ben said their house is full of “Dolly paraphernalia”, including books, pictures, signs, costumes, boxes of makeup, crystals for “gluing on and blinging” and up to 15 wigs, and life as “Dolly Parton’s husband” is never dull.

Ben, who lives in Albury, Hertfordshire, with Kelly and their 13-year-old daughter Amber, said Dolly has “incredible ethics” and they now use this phrase when making difficult decisions: “What would Dolly do?”

“Before, I knew about Dolly’s greatest hit and her philanthropy, but I didn’t know anything beyond that,” Ben, who works in public relations, told PA Real Life.

“Now my wife and my life are completely and utterly dominated by Dolly Parton.

“Dolly Parton is like the patron saint of my household.”

Kelly added: “What’s it like being married to a Dolly Parton impersonator?

“I think Ben thinks it’s a bit weird, but quite exciting, because he will go to work sometimes and tell people what I do, and they often find that quite amusing and quirky, which I think he likes.”

Kelly, who grew up in Australia, first began singing country music in her early teens and performed across the world before moving to the UK in 2005.

Kelly and Ben met on an online dating site in 2007 and “fell in love”. They married in 2009.

Speaking about the first time he saw Kelly, Ben said: “She was stunningly good looking and just pretty perfect actually.

“I remember exactly what she was wearing, when we met and where we went for dinner, and it was 10 out of 10 as first dates go.”

Ben said Kelly had been a “massive fan” of Dolly’s music and performed the famous 1980 single 9 To 5 with her band, but they “didn’t even think about Dolly Parton at the time”.

It was not until a 40th birthday party that Ben and Kelly realised how good her impersonation skills were.

Ben said: “It was a friend’s brother’s 40th birthday party and it was in a lovely hotel in Scotland … and our friend said to Kelly, ‘Would you, for a laugh, dress up and be Dolly Parton?’

“The feedback from everybody at that gig was so good that Kelly sat and thought, ‘hold on a minute’ – and that’s how it started.”

Kelly then took out a loan and spent six months in “intensive training”, learning how to make dresses, perfect her makeup skills, play instruments and speak like Dolly.

Ben said she went “all guns blazing” and her experience of doing cabaret and improvised comedy, as well as singing, helped her transform into the role.

Kelly has since created a show based on Dolly’s life, which has around seven costume changes throughout, and has toured places including Australia, Denmark, the UK and Ireland.

Ben said his life and home now revolve around Dolly Parton – something he never anticipated when he first met Kelly – and he has almost become a “walking encyclopaedia”.

“My house is full of Dolly Parton pictures and wigs and costumes,” he explained.

“There are lots of books about Dolly … there is Dolly memorabilia, Dolly posters, Dolly pictures, pictures of Kelly as Dolly.

“There’s a whole room that’s just Dolly – Kelly’s production room, her studio, is dominated by Dolly paraphernalia.”

Ben said he has “chaperoned” Kelly at various gigs and even pretended to voice Dolly’s husband Carl Dean off-camera for her Facebook shows during the Covid-19 lockdowns, acting as a “comedy foil to Kelly’s genius”.

Kelly even met Dolly Parton in person in 2011, which was “surreal” as they were dressed in almost identical outfits.

Speaking about what Dolly would think of their relationship, Ben said: “She is always really supportive of her impersonators and tribute acts and she is a very romantic person, so I think she’d find it rather sweet.”

Despite being a house music fan, Ben’s favourite Dolly songs sung by his wife are Little Sparrow and The Grass Is Blue.

Kelly admitted that she does not “work nine to five”, contrary to Dolly’s song, and it can be challenging with her touring schedule and being away from home.

However, she said Ben supports her 100% and he has been her “sounding board”.

“It has been challenging because of childcare and Ben having a full-time job, but he has always put my dreams at the forefront and been there to help, even sometimes helping manage my show,” Kelly said.

“I really couldn’t do it without him.”

Ben said Kelly will soon audition for Dolly Parton’s new Broadway musical and she is the only UK-based performer asked to audition.

He said Kelly is “devastatingly funny as Dolly” and he loves that Kelly’s job allows her to have the “best of both worlds”.

While it can feel “meta” seeing his wife make her living by “being someone else”, he said Dolly has brought joy and fun to their lives.

“What I love about Kelly’s job is that she can perform in front of 10,000 people and she can be on a screen, and then she’ll go backstage and turn back into Kelly and no one will recognise her,” Ben said.

“You get to keep your anonymity and you have the best of both worlds.

“Dolly has brought a huge amount of joy to our lives.”