Some of them didn’t belong together, but Mariah Carey’s former relationships led her to meet her current beau, Bryan Tanaka.
The backup dancer and choreographer maintains a private relationship with the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” artist. Mariah has even made it a point to avoid speaking publicly about their romance. In 2017, she told the Associated Press she didn’t “feel comfortable” talking about her “personal life.”
“Me and my boyfriend don’t want to do that,” she added at the time.
However, Bryan chose to give his lady a rare tribute via Instagram upon the release of her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
“The world gets to know you a lot more today,” he wrote in September 2020. “Witnessing you write, record, and create this masterpiece was magical. You inspire me all the time. I’m so happy for you. I’m so grateful to love and support you in all you do. Congratulations babe! You did it!”
After that, Bryan began sharing more moments of their relationship with his followers. The following year, he revealed the date of their anniversary was March 27, posting a selfie of them posing together. “Today is my favorite day. Happy anniversary my love!” the dancer wrote via Instagram that day.
Before dating Bryan, Mariah was married to Nick Cannon from 2008 to 2016, sharing twins Morrocan and Monroe. In a 2020 interview with Variety, Nick opened up about their whirlwind romance and their decision to get hitched just weeks after they began dating.
“We had very sensible conversations,” the comedian recalled. “We were both at this place where relationships really aren’t our thing, but we like each other. We talked everything out … We talked about how much fun it would be if we just got married three weeks into knowing each other. It was more that whimsical fantasy idea of, ‘Let’s have as much fun as we possibly can and when it no longer feels like fun, when it feels like a task and a job, then we should amicably move on.’”
When it comes to her love life, though, the “We Belong Together” singer has previously stated she hasn’t had many relationships.
“I haven’t had that many, but there has been a variety pack,” Mariah told Cosmopolitan in 2019. “I’ve only been with five people in my life, so I’m kind of a prude, honestly, compared to most others in the field.”
Despite what she said, some have speculated on her dating life and believe she was briefly linked to a few other celebrities, including Eminem.
Scroll through the gallery to see Mariah’s former and rumored relationships.