Mariah Carey and James Packer Have Split — But May Get Back Together
Mariah Carey and James Packer are done — for now.
“They are not together right now. They split a couple of weeks ago,” a source close to Packer confirms to PEOPLE. “It’s possible they will get back together. They are still talking, but James needed a break.”
Australian billionaire businessman Packer, 49, proposed to Carey, 46, with a 35-carat diamond engagement ring in her hometown of New York City in January — just months after taking their relationship public last September.
“James is all about business and making money,” the source explains, adding that despite his wealth, Packer’s lifestyle isn’t necessarily in sync with Carey’s. “Some of Mariah’s eccentric ways, especially her spending habits, caused drama. James is the most generous person ever, but he definitely doesn’t agree with senseless spending. ”
The breakup comes as Carey prepares to debut her upcoming E! show Mariah’s World — also said to be an ongoing source of conflict for the pair. Set to premiere Dec. 4, the eight-part reality series follows the songstress as she kicks off her “Sweet Sweet Fantasy” world tour while planning for the wedding.
“James is very private, and doesn’t need the media to be successful,” the source tells PEOPLE. “He doesn’t want to be a part of Mariah’s reality show.”
The couple, who were last photographed together in Los Angeles in late May, first met at the 2014 premiere of Hercules in Aspen, Colorado. “We were talking and laughing and people were getting mad at us. We hit it off,” Carey told Steve Harvey last year.
The pop diva told E! News in June that the wedding was coming together, saying, “You know what? It’s time. The dress and the whole thing. I’m working and he’s working and everyone puts so much pressure.”
A date for the nuptials was never set, a source told PEOPLE in September.
However, Carey and her 5½-year-old twins from her marriage to Nick Cannon, Monroe and Moroccan, moved into a luxury home outside of L.A. that she leased with Packer following the engagement.
Cannon filed for divorce from Carey in January 2015, following six years of marriage. Carey was previously married to music executive Tommy Mottola. Packer has three children with ex-wife Erica Baxter.
“I think aside from Tommy, James is the only guy she’s been with who’s more successful than she is,” a friend of Carey’s told PEOPLE earlier this year. “She likes that.”
Estimated to be the fourth-richest person in Australia, Packer “is powerful and successful and that is attractive to her,” the friend added.
“Mariah was always a hopeless romantic,” another source close to the singer previously told PEOPLE. “She deserves the dream and I am sure James will give her just that.”
Reps for Carey have not commented.
