Photo Credit:Patricia/Twitter
Mariah Carey is grieving the passing of her mother, Patricia Carey. The singer, 55, confirmed to PEOPLE that both her mother and sister, Alison Carey, died on the same day over the weekend, despite having a difficult relationship with her family.
"My heart is shattered by the loss of my mother this past weekend. Tragically, my sister also passed away on the same day," Mariah shared in a statement to PEOPLE on Monday, Aug. 26. "I’m grateful I could spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone's love, support, and respect for my privacy during this unbearable time."
No further details have been released about Patricia and Alison's causes of death.
Mariah, born on March 27, 1969, in Huntington, New York, to Alfred, an Afro-Venezuelan aeronautical engineer, and Patricia, a white opera singer, faced conflict in her family due to her parents' interracial marriage.
In her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, she described her complex relationship with Patricia, noting that it brought her "so much pain and confusion."
"My therapist advised me to mentally reframe my family for my own peace of mind," Mariah wrote. "I began referring to my mother as Pat, and I distanced myself from my siblings, Morgan and Alison... I had to let go of the hope that they would ever become the family I dreamed of."
She further described their story as one "of betrayal and beauty, of love and abandonment, of sacrifice and survival."
"I’ve freed myself from emotional chains multiple times, but a cloud of sadness lingers, not just because of my mother, but due to our complicated journey together," Mariah added.
Mariah dedicated part of her memoir to Patricia, saying, "To Pat, my mother, who, despite everything, I believe did the best she could. I will love you the best I can, always."
Regarding her siblings, Mariah revealed that it was "emotionally and physically safer" for her to have no contact with them. Patricia, a Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach, once told a teenage Mariah, "You should only hope to become half the singer I am." Mariah admitted that those words "still haunt and hurt" her to this day.
