Mariah Carey had a complicated relationship with her late mother Patricia .
Their relationship was filled with ups and downs , which she expressed in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. She declared that her journey with her mother "has been full of contradictions and competing realities" and has "been a whole rainbow of emotions."
"Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment. A complicated love tethers my heart to my mother's." Mariah said. She also detailed how their bond caused her "so much pain and confusion" but she was able to find peace in their relationship and her family trauma through therapy.
Therapy helped the It's A Wrap singer come to turns with her situation by redefining her family. Mariah explained in her memoir: "For my sanity and peace of mind, my therapist encouraged me to literally rename and reframe my family. My mother became Pat to me, Morgan my ex-brother and Alison my ex-sister ... I had to stop expecting them to one day miraculously become the mommy, big brother and big sister I fantasized about."
Mariah shared about the rough times with her mother specifically her mother's jealousy. She elaborated that while she was concentrating on music which helped distract her from her hard home life, her mother appeared jealous. Patricia was a Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach before she retired.
"Having people you love be jealous of you professionally comes with the territory of success, but when the person is your mother and the jealousy is revealed at such a tender age, it's particularly painful," she wrote.
The mother-of-two recounted a time when she was singing with her mother in the car as a teenager and Patricia allegedly said to her "You should only hope that one day you become half the singer I am." Mariah said recalling, ″Still, to this day, what she said haunts and hurts me."
But the two have seemed to made amends from their previous relationship as Mariah dedicated her memoir not only to her two kids, her ancestors but her mother as well. She wrote: "And to Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could. I will love you the best I can, always."
The two also sang a mother-daughter duet for Mariah's ABC Christmas special titled Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You in 2010. They performed O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus . In her exclusive statement to PEOPLE confirming the death of her mother and sister Alison Carey over the weekend, she mentioned she spent time with her mother before her passing.
"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. I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time," the 55-year-old said.
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