Mariah Carey Shared a Heartbreaking Statement After Deaths of Her Mom and Sister

Mariah Carey is in mourning after losing two family members on the same day. The “All I Want For Christmas Is You” singer confirmed that her mom Patricia and her sister Alison died over the weekend in an emotional statement, per numerous outlets. Carey, who didn’t publicly share the cause of the “tragic turn of events,” also asked for privacy during “this impossible time.”

“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” Carey said in a statement shared with news outlets on Monday, August 26. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day. 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 has previously revealed she has a strained relationship with her family. While the Grammy Award-winning singer hasn’t been publicly spotted with her mom in recent years, she invited her to attend her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2015. She also memorably performed with Patricia in 2010 singing a duet of “O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus” as part of ABC’s Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You special. Carey opened up about the ups and downs of her relationship with her mom in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.

“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,” she wrote about Patricia, who was a Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach.

“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,” she added about Patricia. In the dedication of her memoir, she addressed her mom, writing, “And to Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could. I will love you the best I can, always.”

The record producer hasn’t spoken much about her relationship with her older sister, but in her 2020 memoir, she said she found it was “emotionally and physically safer for me not to have any contact” with Alison or her older brother Morgan at the time.