After seven years together, that superstar was mentioned this week Mariah Carey54, had called it quits with her dancer boyfriend Bryan Tanaka, 40.
It came after weeks of rumors stemming from Bryan's absence from Mariah Christmas tour shows – with fans calling her out for looking 'depressed' on stage.
Neither has publicly confirmed the breakup, but there are signs that the romance is doomed from the start.
From their 14-year age difference to Bryan's “desire for a family,” DailyMail.com will explore the reasons why Mariah and Bryan's relationship didn't last.
After seven years together, it was reported this week that superstar Mariah Carey, 54, had called it quits with her dancer boyfriend Bryan Tanaka, 40; seen in 2018
FROM HIS BOSS TO HIS BOO
Bryan and Mariah began their professional relationship when he joined her as a backup dancer on her Adventures of Mimi tour in 2006.
The arena tour was in support of the singer's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, and it was a huge opportunity for the then 23-year-old Bryan, who began pursuing a dancing career just five years earlier.
Meanwhile, Mariah, then 37, was already at the top of her game after breaking onto the music scene in 1990.
“There used to be something connected between us and just a mutual admiration,” Bryan said E! News back in 2016.
'She saw something in me that I didn't recognize at first, but from that moment on it was over. It was a given in history that we would be connected in some way.”
Although they wouldn't date until 2016, they spent the first ten years getting to know each other as employers and employees.
Power dynamics – such as financial inequality and level of influence – can pose major problems for couples.
Bryan and Mariah began their professional relationship when he joined her as a backup dancer on her Adventures of Mimi tour in 2006; seen in 2022
REBOUND ROMANCE
In October 2016, Mariah ended her engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer and quickly started a new relationship with Bryan.
It turned out to be an ugly breakup, leading to Packer awarding Mariah a multi-million dollar settlement and omitting all details of the engagement from her memoir.
Mariah confirmed that she had moved out of Packer when she was spotted being affectionate with Bryan on the beach over Thanksgiving weekend that year.
She previously confessed that her relationship with Packer was “never physical,” so a hot and heavy rebound may have been just what she needed.
In October 2016, Mariah ended her engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer and quickly began a new relationship with Bryan; Mariah and James seen in May 2016
THE FIRST SPLIT
Just months after their Thanksgiving getaway, Mariah and Bryan would split for the first time in April 2017.
AND reported that the couple's romance had been “waning” for a while, but it really fell apart after a February dinner in LA.
The outlet's source claimed that Bryan was “extremely jealous” of Mariah's ex-husband Nick Cannon, with whom she shares 12-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan, and was angry when he caught Mariah talking about Cannon to the wait staff at the restaurant.
They also claimed that Bryan retaliated by “ordering a lot of food and drinks and putting it on Mariah's bill.”
ET's insider even went so far as to accuse Bryan of being a “freeloader” and only using Mariah for her “fame and money.”
Despite the alleged February blowup, Bryan went on vacation with Mariah in March to celebrate her 47th birthday.
Although he tried to make the relationship look 'nice' on social media by sharing cheerful photos from the holiday, TMZ confirmed the split in April.
The outlet also cited Bryan's “jealousy” of Nick as the main reason for the split.
But later that year they were back together.
Just months after their Thanksgiving getaway, Mariah and Bryan broke up for the first time in April 2017 over alleged issues of “jealousy”; seen in February 2017
MARY'S WORLD
Bryan appeared alongside Mariah on the E! documentary series Mariah's World, which premiered in December 2016 – less than a month after their romance went public.
The show was recorded earlier that year and documents the road – personal and professional – to Mariah's The Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour
It gave fans their first glimpse of the budding romance, with Bryan admitting on national television that he was “getting hard feelings” for the then-engaged singer.
On the show, Bryan opens up about how “bad” it was to see Mariah with Packer and how he felt he and Mariah were “meant to be together.”
“I feel like our chemistry isn't just professional,” he told another dancer.
“There's great chemistry professionally, but when we talk it feels like there's a connection that's more than just what we've had over the past decade.”
Before the finale, fans cheered as Bryan and Mariah launched their relationship hard by sharing a passionate kiss in front of cameras.
Bryan appeared alongside Mariah on the E! documentary series Mariah's World, which premiered in December 2016 – just a month after their romance went public; seen in February 2017
AGE DIFFERENCE
While there may be “great chemistry” between them, there is also a fourteen-year age difference.
While people like Leonardo DiCaprio, 49 – who has a habit of only dating women under 25 – are praised for their young dating pool, women often face “a disproportionate amount of judgement” when dating younger men, according to the BBC.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan in 2019, Mariah was asked if she has a 'preference for younger men' – despite having only one other age-gap romance with Nick Cannon, who is 11 years her junior.
“I haven't had that many, but there has been a varied pack,” she replied.
“I've only been with five people in my life, so I'm honestly quite squeamish compared to most others in the field.”
While there may be “great chemistry” between them, there is also a fourteen-year age gap
FAMILY MAN
After the split news surfaced, Page six reported that Mariah and Bryan called off their seven-year romance due to his desire to start a family of his own.
The outlet's insider explained, “He wants to start a family. That's not where she is.'
At the age of 54, Carey shares 12-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-husband Cannon.
Carey shares 12-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-husband Nick Cannon. The two were married from 2008 to 2016