Mariah Carey has confirmed the heartbreaking news that both her mother, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, passed away on the same day. She expressed her profound grief, stating, “My heart is broken.”
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Mariah Carey expressed her gratitude for the support and privacy during this difficult period, saying, “I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
Mariah Carey has confirmed to PEOPLE that both her mother, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, passed away on the same day over the weekend. In an exclusive statement, Carey, 55, shared, “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.”
She 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.”
Details regarding the causes of death for Patricia and Alison have not been disclosed. Patricia, a Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach, was married to Alfred Roy Carey before their divorce when Mariah was 3. Patricia and Alfred had three children: Alison, Mariah, and Morgan. Mariah’s relationship with her mother, from whom she inherited her vocal talent, was often complex.
In her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, Mariah reflected on her complex 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.”
She described their relationship as a “prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment,” noting that “a complicated love tethers my heart to my mother’s.”
Despite their ups and downs, Mariah Carey continued to maintain a relationship with her mother. In 2010, they performed a touching mother-daughter duet of “O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus” during ABC’s Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You special.
Mariah dedicated part of her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey to Patricia, 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.”
Her relationship with her sister Alison was also complex. In her memoir, Mariah mentioned that it was, at that time, “emotionally and physically safer for me not to have any contact” with Alison or their brother Morgan.