The pop star, 55, confirmed in a statement on Monday (26 August) that her mom and sister both died over the weekend, though their causes of death have not been shared.
She described her devastation over the events to PEOPLE, saying: “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.”
Mariah Carey confirmed the loss of her family members in a statement. (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Carey’s mom, Patricia, was a trained opera singer and vocal coach who welcomed her children with engineer Alfred Roy Carey.
The couple had three children in total, Alison, Mariah and a son named Morgan, but they divorced when Mariah was just three years old.
Patricia was 87 years old when she died, while Carey’s sister Alison was 63.
In her statement, Carey offered insight into her mom’s final days as she revealed she spent them with her daughter at her side.
“I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed,” she said, adding: “I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
Carey has previously opened up about having a complicated relationship with both her mom and sister.
In her 2020 memoir, titled The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the singer admitted the relationship she’d had with her mom had caused her ‘pain and confusion’ over the years.
Carey spent her mom’s final days with her. (Mark Von Holden/Billboard via Getty Images)
She spoke of professional jealousy between the pair, saying: “When the person is your mother and the jealousy is revealed at such a tender age, it’s particularly painful.”
However, Carey also wrote in the book that she felt her mom had done ‘the best she could’.
When it came to her sister, Carey said she had become estranged from both her and her brother, claiming it was ’emotionally and physically safer’ for her to cut ties.
According to Dave Baker, a close friend of Alison’s, Carey’s sister had been receiving home hospice care for the last three weeks of her life due to a ‘problem with [her] internal organs’.
Dave told The US Sun that Alison had a ‘tough exterior’, but said she was a ‘highly intelligent, warm, and sensitive person’ underneath.
“I have known her for nine years and as her friend and in recent months her carer I will miss her greatly,” he continued.
“Farewell Alison. May you now find peace, your tortured soul forever free from earthly pain.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
Featured Image Credit: Mark Von Holden/Billboard via Getty Images/Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic via Getty
