Mariah Carey Suffers Two Heartbreaking Losses On The Same Day
"All I Want for Christmas" is going to have a mournful new meaning for Mariah Carey this holiday season. According to People, the Grammy-winning singer's older sister, Alison Carey, died over the August 24 weekend. Unfortunately, her sibling isn't the only devastating loss Mariah is grieving. Her mother, opera singer Patricia Carey, now shares her date of death with her eldest daughter. "My heart is broken that I've lost my mother this past weekend," Mariah said in a statement. "Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day."
No details have been released about how either woman died, but Mariah did reveal that she was with her mother during her final days. "I appreciate everyone's love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time," her statement read. While Mariah had a complicated relationship with her mother, she must find some solace in knowing she was there for her in the end.
Why Mariah Carey's relationships with her mother and sister were strained
There's no doubt that Mariah Carey inherited her pipes from Patricia Carey. However, according to Mariah, it was hard for Patricia to watch her daughter achieve a level of success that eluded her during her music career. "Having people you love be jealous of you professionally comes with the territory of success, but when the person is your mother and the jealousy is revealed at such a tender age, it's particularly painful," Mariah wrote in her memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey."
But by 2010, Patricia was celebrating her daughter's talents rather than envying them; she took the stage with Mariah during her "Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You" ABC special. The two women performed "O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus," their song from Mariah's "Merry Christmas II You" album. Mariah's Christmas spirit also comes from her mom. "[Patricia] would try to make it fun. But we didn't have a lot of money, so sometimes she would wrap up fruit because it was all she could afford," Mariah told the Mirror.
In the past, Mariah was criticized for not helping her sister, who had HIV and suffered from numerous health issues. In response to a 2016 video of Alison Carey begging Mariah for monetary assistance, the singer's PR team told the Daily Mail, "Through the years, Mariah has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting Alison and her children." The sisters' relationship took a nasty turn in 2021 when Alison sued Mariah. Per Page Six, Alison accused her sibling of lying about their childhood in her autobiography. Some of the allegations Alison was particularly upset with were that she drugged Mariah and scalded her with hot tea.