Mariah Carey’s mother, Patricia, and sister, Alison, died on the same day over the weekend of August 24. Neither cause of death is known. “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed,†Carey said in a statement to People. “I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.†Carey’s complicated relationship with her mother is described as a “prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration, and disappointment†in her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. Of their current relationship, Carey wrote that she has “reserved some room in my heart and life to hold her — but with boundaries,†and Patricia was among those in the book’s dedication.
Carey severed her relationship with Alison prior to the memoir due to Alison’s alleged abuse, and Carey refers to Alison as her “ex-sister.†Alison sued Carey over the claims in the memoir in 2021, per TMZ.