Mariah Carey has suffered unimaginable family heartbreak after losing both her mother and sister on the same day.
The singer confirmed the tragic news in a statement to People on Monday (August 26), saying: “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.”
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Carey continued: “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
Carey’s mother, Patricia, was 87 years old and a former singer and vocal coach. Her cause of death has not yet been revealed.
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Carey’s sister, Alison, was 63 and had reportedly been receiving hospice care for an undisclosed illness.
The “We Belong Together” hitmaker had a difficult relationship with both her mother and sister, detailing their conflict in her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
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Of her sister, Carey said it was “emotionally and physically safer for me to not have any contact.”
Alison would later sue Carey for $1.2 million for the comments in her book, claiming they were “vindictive.” Carey never filed a response and it is not known how the legal dispute concluded.
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Mariah Carey also opened up about her relationship with her mother, writing: “Like many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother has been full of contradictions and competing realities. It’s never been only black-and-white — it’s been a whole rainbow of emotions.
“Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment. A complicated love tethers my heart to my mother’s.”
Carey also wrote: “There was a distinct shift: she made me feel like the competition, like a threat. In place of our previous bond grew a different tie, a rope tethering us through shared biology and social obligation.
“Having people you love be jealous of you professionally comes with the territory of success, but when the person is your mother and the jealousy is revealed at such a tender age, it’s particularly painful.”
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She would also credit her mom for encouraging her musical abilities: “I would sing little tunes around the house, to my mother’s delight. And she always encouraged me.”
Despite their complicated relationship, Mariah Carey dedicated her memoir to her mother. They also performed together several times over the “Fantasy” singer’s lengthy career.
