Mariah Carey suffers two “tragic” family losses in one day

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Mariah Carey is dealing with immense loss after both her mother Patricia Carey and estranged sister Alison Carey passed away on the same day over the weekend.

Carey, 55, shared her grief PEOPLE on Monday, August 26, and said: “I am heartbroken to have lost my mother this past weekend. Unfortunately, in a tragic turn of events, my sister also lost her life on the same day.”

Despite the tense and complicated dynamics within her family, the legendary singer expressed her gratitude for being able to spend time with her 87-year-old mother during her final days – but did not reveal the reason for her death.

“I feel blessed to have been able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed away,” she told the source, adding, “I'm grateful for everyone's love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.” Details about Alison's cause of death have also not been released at this time.

In her 2020 memoir The meaning of Mariah CareyIn her book “The Fantasy,” the singer opened up about the complex relationship she had with her mother, describing it as “a prickly strand of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment.” The “Fantasy” singer admitted that their bond was full of contradictions. “It was never just black and white – it was a whole rainbow of emotions,” she wrote.

However, the difficulties did not completely destroy their relationship. Carey and her mother performed a touching mother-daughter duet during the ABC broadcast Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas Mariah also dedicated part of her memoir to her mother, writing: “And Pat, my mother, who, despite everything, I think actually did her best.”

Carey's relationship with her sister Alison was similarly strained. In her memoir, she described how it was “emotionally and physically safer” for her to distance herself from both Alison and her brother Morgan. Alison was 62 when she died.