Mariah Carey‘s life would be so different today had she never met her old flame Derek Jeter!
The 50-year-old pop star recently admitted as much when she joined Oprah Winfrey‘s Apple TV+ show, The Oprah Conversation, and opened up about meeting the New York Yankees shortstop, which ultimately led to her divorce from Tommy Mottola in 1998. The candid conversation comes just days before the release of her new memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, on September 29, and it appears Mimi is giving us a taste of what we can look forward to in her juicy book!
Related: Mariah Carey Recalls Extremely Uncomfortable Interview With Ellen DeGeneres
We’ve always known there was friction between Mariah and Mottola, her record executive ex-husband whom she married in 1993 at just 23-years old when he was 43. She explained that meeting Jeter in 1997 had such a profound impact on how she viewed her own life and inspired her to make some real changes:
“He was a catalyst that helped me get out of that relationship because I believed there was somebody else.”
It was definitely more than just his charming good looks that caught her eye at the time, though. Sharing more about their serendipitous encounter, Carey explained the fact that she and Jeter are both biracial played a big part in their early connection:
“It was the racial situation. His mom is Irish, his dad is Black, but he’s also very ambiguous-looking to me. I didn’t know who he was. Honestly, I don’t think it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he was the love of my life.’ At the time I did because I didn’t think I would ever meet anybody who wouldn’t… 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.”
Wow.
Just the way she talks about meeting someone who “wouldn’t feel superior” to her gives us some painful insight on what things were like in her marriage at the time. As you’ll likely recall, the Glitter star described Tommy as an “oppressive humidity” in her full-length feature for Vulture earlier this summer.
During the chat, Mariah added that seeing Jeter’s own “healthy family” showed her that her own was “dysfunctional” for reasons other than the fact that they were mixed race. She admitted:
“Yes, those things did play a huge part in their dysfunction, but it was healthy for me to see a functional family that looked like mine but didn’t feel like mine.”
The All I Want For Christmas Is You singer continued praising her ex-lover and the way they bonded professionally:
“He was also doing his dream job and living his dream job, and I believe we connected in that way.”
Though Mariah and Derek’s fling was short-lived, it’s obvious their romance was life-changing and came at the right time in the performer’s life. She has since memorialized her feelings about their time together in her songs The Roof and My All, which are both about Jeter.
Perezcious readers, you can watch her full conversation with Oprah on Apple TV+ if you’re subscribed, but in the meantime, ch-ch-check out a promo clip (below):
I couldn't have asked for a better way to introduce my memoir than having a conversation with my friend, therapist and icon Ms. @Oprah Winfrey, on her series #TheOprahConversation. Watch tomorrow on @AppleTV! pic.twitter.com/5SxIvpuoUE
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) September 23, 2020
We can’t wait to read more about Mariah’s upbringing, career, and more noteworthy past relationships (sadly, no Eminem), when her book officially drops early next week!
[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/DJDM/Derrick Salters/WENN]
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