In a heartbreaking announcement, pop icon Mariah Carey revealed that both her mother, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, passed away on the same day this past weekend. The exact cause and timing of their deaths remain unclear.
“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” Mariah expressed in a statement. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.”
Mariah shared that she had the chance to spend the last week with her mother. She added, “I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
Patricia Carey, a former Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach, had been married to Alfred Roy Carey. Together, they had two daughters, Alison and Mariah, and a son, Morgan Carey. Alfred Roy Carey, who was of Venezuelan and Black descent, passed away in 2002.
Throughout her life, Mariah, now 55, has spoken openly about the difficulties she faced growing up as a biracial child on Long Island. She delved deeper into these experiences in her 2020 memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey.”
The book was dedicated to her twins, Monroe and Moroccan Cannon, and her mother. In the dedication, Mariah wrote: “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.”
Having risen to prominence as one of the most successful pop stars since the early 1990s, Mariah has often discussed the complicated dynamics within her family. She once described feeling like “an A.T.M. with a wig on” in her family’s eyes.
There was a time when Mariah, feeling overwhelmed, sought refuge in a cabin she had bought for her mother. However, this moment of peace was disrupted when her mother called the police. “She gave them an odd, knowing look,” Mariah wrote, “which felt like the equivalent of a secret-society handshake, some sort of white-woman-in-distress cop mode.”
Mariah acknowledged that her relationship with her mother was far from straightforward. “Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment,” she wrote. “A complicated love tethers my heart to my mother’s.”
Despite the challenges, singing provided a unique bond between them. They performed “O Come All Ye Faithful/ Hallelujah Chorus” together in 2010 during Mariah’s Christmas special on ABC.
Mariah’s relationship with her sister Alison was equally troubled. According to The Times Union, Alison Carey passed away in Greene County, New York, over 130 miles north of New York City, at the age of 63.
In her memoir, Mariah recounted harrowing experiences with Alison, including being drugged with Valium, offered cocaine, inflicted with third-degree burns, and an attempt to sell her to a pimp—all when Mariah was just 12 years old.
Given the traumatic history with her siblings, Mariah admitted that she felt “emotionally and physically safer” keeping her distance from them.
This weekend’s tragic events have undoubtedly deepened the singer’s complex emotions, marking a profound moment of grief and reflection in her life.
