Visions of Love: Mariah Carey's Husbands, Boyfriends and Relationship History
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey writes some of the best love songs around, but she doesn't have a ton of relationships under her belt.
Though she's been married twice and engaged one other time, Carey's boyfriends and romances are actually relatively few and far between. She previously joked that it's likely because she's a self-described "prude," explaining, "I haven't had many [lovers], but it's been a variety pack."
Honestly? More power to her for maintaining her boundaries!
Here's everything we know about Mariah Carey's husbands, Mariah Carey's boyfriends and her dating history.
Related: Mariah Carey's Net Worth and How Much She Makes Every Christmas
Does Mariah Carey have a boyfriend?
In a word: Maybe.
Lambs have speculated that Carey and her longtime boyfriend, dancer Bryan Tanaka, may have called it quits. He hasn't been seen on her 2023 "Merry Christmas One and All!" tour, and the pair haven't been photographed together on Instagram since December 2022.
Is Mariah Carey currently in a relationship?
Carey's current relationship status is unknown, though her Lambily believes that she's single following a speculated split from Bryan Tanaka. Neither she nor Tanaka have commented on the rumors of a breakup.
Are Bryan Tanaka and Mariah still together?
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It's unclear whether Carey and Bryan Tanaka are still a couple. The pair began dating in 2016 after her breakup from billionaire James Packer.
Tanaka was a dancer for Carey for several years, but hasn't been seen on her "Merry Christmas One and All!" tour so far in 2023, leading fans to believe that the pair may have ended their romantic relationship and their professional one.
Related: Festive Facts About Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas"
Who are Mariah Carey's boyfriends?
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Aside from Tanaka, Packer, Cannon and Mottola, Carey has dated Derek Jeter and Luis Miguel.
Rapper Eminem said he had a relationship with Carey, which didn't end well, and she denied ever being intimate with him and dissed him in her tracks "Clown" and "Obsessed."
Related: Derek Jeter's Girlfriend Lineup
Does Mariah Carey have any children?
Carey shares two children, twins Moroccan Cannon and Monroe Cannon, with ex-husband Nick Cannon. When they were born, "Roc and Roe" were nicknamed "Dem Babies," and as they've grown up, they've upgraded to "Dem Kids." The tykes often join their megastar momma onstage, with Roe especially loving to sing.
Related: Mariah Carey on Her Favorite Christmas Traditions
What happened with Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey?
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Cannon and Carey met on the set of her music video for "Bye Bye" in 2008 and tied the knot after a brief, whirlwind romance that same year.
In 2011, the couple welcomed "Dem Babies" Moroccan and Monroe.
Carey and Cannon separated in late 2014, with Cannon filing for divorce early the following year. Neither has gone into detail about what led to their split. They finalized their divorce in November 2016. While no longer romantically involved, the duo are friends and amicable co-parents to Dem Kids.
Who is Mariah engaged to?
Carey isn't currently engaged, but she was previously engaged to billionaire James Packer.
She and Packer reportedly met in Aspen, then connected later at the premiere of mutual pal Brett Ratner's film Hercules. They went public with their relationship in 2015, making their first red carpet appearance that September at the premiere of The Intern.
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The couple got engaged in January 2016, with Packer sweetening the deal with a massive 35-carat diamond ring worth an estimated $7.5 million.
By September 2016, however, the pair got into a blowout fight while vacationing in Mykonos, Greece. A rep for Packer told Entertainment Tonight in a statement at the time, "Mariah and James had a fight in Greece, and have not seen each other since. The fight was not because of any cheating allegations or excessive spending by Mariah."
By Oct. 27, 2016, Carey and Packer were fully done, PEOPLE reported, with their engagement and wedding completely called off.
How many children does Mariah Carey have?
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Carey has two children, Moroccan and Monroe Cannon, with ex Nick Cannon.
What happened to Mariah Carey and Tommy Mottola?
When Tommy Mottola and Carey met in 1991, he was the head of Columbia Records and she was a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr. After hearing Carey's demo tape, Mottola, who was married at the time, obsessively pursued Carey to sign her—and filed for divorce from his wife of 19 years, with whom he shared two kids.
Mottola exerted a tremendous amount of control over Carey's career and life. They wed in 1993 when Carey was 23 years old to Mottola's 43. Carey described her marriage to Mottola as being held "prisoner," and in her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, recalled how he almost never let her leave their upstate New York mansion—and claimed he even had security guards wait outside the door when she used the bathroom.
Even Mottola himself said that his conduct in their entire relationship was "absolutely wrong and inappropriate," but said his actions as both her husband and the head of Sony Records is part of why Carey was so successful.
Carey and Mottola split when she met then-New York Yankees superstar short stop Derek Jeter, calling the baseball icon a "catalyst" for her to be able to find freedom outside of Mottola's clutches. Carey and Mottola divorced in 1998, after which he was accused of trying to sabotage her career (namely her Glitter album).
Related: Mariah Carey Says Marriage to Tommy Mottola Was Akin to Being a 'Child Bride'
How old was Mariah when she had twins?
Carey and Cannon welcomed twins Moroccan Monroe on April 30, 2011, when Carey was 41 years old. However, it's important to remember that time is irrelevant to her!
Does Mariah Carey still have her engagement ring?
John Sciulli/Getty Images for G'day USA Gala
Carey kept her engagement ring after she and Packer split as part of a settlement reportedly worth somewhere between $5 million and $10 million.
What happened to Mariah Carey's engagement?
Carey and Packer broke up and called off their engagement in October 2016. A year later, Packer said of the split, "I was at a low point in my personal life. She was kind, exciting and fun. Mariah is a woman of substance. But it was a mistake for her and a mistake for me."
Carey, for her part, commented on the split mostly in her song and music video for "I Don't," in which she burned her wedding dress.
How much did Mariah Carey sell her engagement ring for?
Carey reportedly sold her engagement ring from Packer through her business manager for a cool $2.1 million.
How much did Mariah Carey sue her ex-fiancé for?
Carey sued Packer for $50 million for effectively having her uproot her life and move to Los Angeles from her beloved native New York City to be with him. They eventually settled for between $5 million and $10 million, which included her engagement ring from the billionaire.
Who is Mariah Carey's baby daddy?
Carey, like many others, can count Nick Cannon as her baby daddy. She was the first!
Related: All About Nick Cannon's Children and Their Mothers
Who is Mariah Carey's ex-husband?
Carey's ex-husbands are Tommy Mottola and Nick Cannon.
How many ex husbands does Mariah Carey have?
Carey has been married twice, first to Mottola from 1993 to 1998, then to Cannon from 2008 to 2016.
How old was Tommy Mottola when Mariah married?
Mottola was 43 years old when he married 23-year-old Carey.
