Mariah Carey suffers a tragic double loss: mother and sister die on the same day

Looking back on the days before the tragedy, Mariah said with gratitude: “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mother before she passed away.”

Mariah Carey, the legendary voice behind “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” is mourning the loss of her mother and sister, who both died on the same day this weekend.

The singer confirmed the bad news on Monday, sharing that her mother Patricia and sister Alison had died on the same day over the weekend. A visibly distraught Mariah Carey, 55, told People magazine: “I am heartbroken to have lost my mother this past weekend.” She continued: “Unfortunately, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.”

Looking back on the days before the tragedy, Mariah said with gratitude: “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mother before she died,” reports The Mirror.

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Seeking comfort during this difficult time, Mariah expressed her gratitude for the overwhelming support and asked for her family's privacy to be respected. She stated, “I am grateful for everyone's love and support and for respecting my privacy during this impossible time.”

Although the Carey family respects their need for privacy, details of Patricia and Alison's cause of death have not been made public. Known for her impressive skills as an opera singer and voice teacher, Patricia raised Alison, Mariah and Morgan alongside Alfred Roy Carey into the spotlight of music and celebrity.

After her separation from Alfred Roy Carey in 1973, Patricia Hickey resumed her music career before deciding to have children. In the meantime, her daughter Alison endured numerous hardships, including periods of homelessness, and stayed away from her sister Mariah, an international superstar, for many years.

Mariah Carey has spoken openly about her complicated relationship with her mother in several interviews, attributing her extraordinary voice to her mother's influence. In her memoir “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” the singer delves deeply into the dynamics of their relationship, revealing: “Like many aspects of my life, my relationship with my mother was full of contradictions and competing realities.”

She goes into more detail about this relationship in her book, writing: “It was never just black and white – it was a whole rainbow of emotions. Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment,” revealing layers of complex emotions. “A complicated love connects my heart to my mother's.”

Despite emotional clashes with her mother, Mariah has maintained family ties. A poignant example from the ABC special Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You in 2010 shows the two together singing “O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus.”

Mariah dedicated touching words to her mother in her autobiography: “And Pat, my mother, who, despite everything, I think, did the best she could,” expressing a deep but confused affection: “I will always love you as well as I can.” Mariah Carey spoke openly about the difficult relationship with her sister Alison and admitted in her memoir that she had to cut ties for her own good, explaining that it was “emotionally and physically safer for me not to have contact.”

The globally acclaimed singer, known for her iconic Christmas hit and who has twins Moroccan and Monroe with former partner Nick Cannon, has previously spoken about the “dysfunction” of Christmas celebrations in her family growing up. The undisputed queen of festive tunes reflected on her complex feelings about the 2021 holiday season.

Despite the phenomenal success of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” over three decades, Mariah Carey's memories of Christmases past are marked by sadness. In an intimate conversation, the 55-year-old star spoke about her personal history and the difficulties she experienced in her early years.

Recalling a moment from 2021, she said, “I always wanted Christmas to be perfect, and I always looked forward to the holidays, but I had this incredibly dysfunctional family that ruined it every year.” She shared grim memories of receiving nothing but fruit as gifts and vowed to herself, “I thought to myself, 'When I grow up, I'm never going to let that happen. I'm going to make Christmas perfect every year.'”