Mariah Carey's mother and sister die on same day
While she did not share the cause of their deaths, she has urged people to “respect her privacy” during this “impossible time.”
Mariah Carey's mother, Patricia Carey, and sister, Alison Carey, died on the same day over the weekend, the 55-year-old singer confirmed on Monday (26 August).
The Without You singer expressed her heartbreak in an emotional statement. While she did not share the cause of their deaths, she has urged people to "respect her privacy" during this "impossible time."
In a short statement shared with People, the Emotions singer said, "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." "I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed," she continued, adding, "I appreciate everyone's love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time."
The five-time Grammy Award winner's parents divorced when she was just three years old. Her father, Alfred Roy Cory, died in 2002 of a rare form of cancer. Mariah previously opened up on her strained relationship with her late mother 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.
She also recalled her tumultuous relationship with her brother, Morgan Carey, and late sister, Alison Carey.
"For my sanity and peace of mind, my therapist encouraged me to literally rename and reframe my family," she wrote, adding, "My mother became Pat to me, Morgan my ex-brother and Alison my ex-sister... I had to stop expecting them to one day miraculously become the mommy, big brother and big sister I fantasized about."