Mariah Carey chats with Oprah Winfrey about her upcoming memoir, past relationships, kids and more

On Wednesday, Apple TV+ announced that Mariah Carey will be the next guest to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s show, The Oprah Conversation. Fans were even given a sneak peek at the episode through a short trailer.

The episode finds the two sitting down, in a virtual format, due to the coronavirus pandemic, in conversation about the 50 year old singer’s highly-anticipated memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which is due out Sept. 29.

123 14

In the clip, Carey and Winfrey discuss a wide range of topics ranging from the time the singer was held in the backseat of a police car. Which is something that Carey says she’s “never spoken about.” To a moment in her life when she didn’t feel “worthy of existing.” Although the trailer does not disclose what the singer is talking in reference to, Winfrey responds, saying, “The loneliness and sadness behind the façade, I now understand it.”

“He was a catalyst that helped me get out of that relationship”

The interview also touches upon Carey’s romantic past. The “We Belong Together” singer has previously been married to Tommy Mottola from 1993 to 1998. Carey was also married to Nick Cannon from 2008 to 2016, and the both share their 9-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe.

gettyimages 682857782

However, before the singer met Mottola, she was linked to former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter in the late 90s.

In an exclusive clip of Thursday’s The Oprah Conversation, Carey is seen opening up about her relationship with the New York Yankee and even describes Jeter as a “catalyst” for her to leave Mottola, her husband of five years.

33530546 0 image a 24 1600870955222

“Before you divorced Tommy Mottola, you met Yankee baseball player Derek Jeter, and you say he served a very high purpose in your life,” Oprah says in the clip. “This was one of those situations of the right person at the right place and the right time. What was it about Derek? He got his own song too, right?”

Mariah candidly agrees, saying, “He got his own song, He got a few songs. He was a catalyst that helped me get out of that relationship because I believed that there was somebody else.”

“It was healthy for me to see a functional family that kind of looked like mine, but didn’t feel like mine”

“It was the racial situation, his mom is Irish, his dad is Black. But he was also very ambiguous looking to me,” Carey said of Jeter. “I didn’t know who he was, we met and I’ve written songs about it,” she says.

“And honestly, I don’t think it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he was the love of my life,'” she admits. “Like, at the time I did, because I didn’t think I would ever meet anybody who wouldn’t- What’s the word? Not looked down on but feel superior to me because of the fact that I’m not one way or another in most people’s minds, and they have preconceived notions, whatever. But he was a catalyst. And I think that it was beautiful,” the singer confessed.

32711388 0 image a 11 1599088733373

The five-time Grammy winner further spoke about Jeter’s biracial family, which she describes as a “healthy” and “functional” one that changed her perceptions about her own.

“They changed my viewpoint that ‘Oh, it’s because of the biracial situation that my family is so screwed up,’ as opposed to ‘it’s them.’ And yes, those things did play a huge part in their dysfunction. But it was healthy for me to see a functional family that basically kind of looked like mine, but didn’t feel like mine,” the singer admitted. “And he was also living his dream job and doing his dream job,” she adds. “I believe we connected in that way.”

“The children are my actual family. And I’m not worried about them trying to hurt me”

While discussing Mariah’s dysfunctional childhood, at one point, Oprah also asks Mariah if her nine-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe Cannon, have helped her resolve any lingering issues with her broken childhood. “They helped to heal me every day,” gushed Mariah, who genuinely seems grateful.

The singer spoke more about the unconditional love her children give her, saying that they provide her with something she’s really only ever gotten from her fans. “The children provide me with this actual love, and they are my actual family. And I’m not worried about them trying to hurt me,” she confessed. “I’ve never had a reference for unconditional, familial love until now.”

Mariah Carey throws twins a virtual 9th birthday party

An insider recently revealed that Mariah “has a lot of nerves about the book coming out. She’s extremely candid, so she does worry about certain people being upset by what she reveals.” As far as her past relationships, the source elaborated suggesting that Tommy for one, “probably won’t be too happy” with the details in her memoir. However, “it wouldn’t be her true story if she didn’t share what happened in their marriage,” the singer added.

The Oprah Conversation: Mariah Carey will debut globally Thursday, Sept. 24 on Apple TV+.

Share

Leave a Reply