Mariah Carey has said her “heart is broken” as she confirmed the deaths of both her mother Patricia and sister Alison, who tragically died on the same day over the weekend.
The All I Want for Christmas Is You hit-maker made the announcement on Monday and thanked people for their “love and support”.
The iconic singer, 55, told People: “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 added before concluding: “I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
Carey didn’t give any further details about the causes of death of either of her family members.
Not long before her death, Alison was reportedly receiving home hospice care, with The Sun reporting she’d been receiving the care “for the last three weeks of her life”.
Mariah Carey announced the deaths of both her mother and sister
Her close friend Dave Baker also revealed to the publication Alison had been suffering from a “problem with her internal organs”.
Baker also paid tribute to his friend, adding: “Beneath a tough exterior Alison was a highly intelligent, warm, and sensitive person.
“I have known her for nine years and as her friend and in recent months her carer. I will miss her greatly. Farewell Alison. May you now find peace, your tortured soul forever free from earthly pain.”
It’s understood Carey’s relationship with her 63-year-old sister had been complicated, with the singer’s estranged sibling enduring homelessness and personal struggles throughout her life.
Carey said in her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey that is was “emotionally and physically safer for me not to have any contact” with Alison as well as her brother, Morgan.
Obsessed singer Carey has in the past talked about how she also had a strained relationship with her mother.
The Mirror reports how she had written in her autobiography: “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. Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment.”
Mariah Carey had a strained relationship with both her mother and sister
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However, the mother and daughter joined forces in 2010 for a performance on ABC’s Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You. The duo performed a duet of O Come All Ye Faithful.
Patricia divorced the late Alfred Roy Carey in 1973 and had been an opera singer and vocal coach before having children.
Carey hasn’t yet shared anything on her social media platforms about the deaths.