Meet Mariah Carey's Ex, Aussie Billionaire James Packer Who Allegedly Paid a Multi-Million Dollar Fee after Their Split

Mariah Carey has had many lovers in the past and was once engaged to Australian billionaire James Packer. He gave her an engagement ring worth millions which she kept after their split – meet her ex-boyfriend.

Hollywood has had its fair share of explosive splits, and singer Mariah Carey's breakup with James Packer is one of them. The pair were only engaged for less than a year in 2016, and while she almost ended up walking down the aisle, the singer reportedly said that the relationship did not matter to her.

Packer is the son of a late casino mogul, once Australia's richest man. In Australia, he is considered "royalty," as once shared by one of his longtime friends.

A QUICK MOVE

In June 2014, his business partner Brett Ratner introduced him to Carey at the premiere of his movie "Hercules." It was reported that since meeting her, the mogul was "completely obsessed with her."

By 2016, she and her twins moved to Calabasas to live with him in the 18,000-square-foot house they rented for a whopping $250,000 a month. While he was in financial trouble at the time, his net worth was still at around $4.4 billion.

THEIR LAVISH ENGAGEMENT

The couple announced their engagement in January 2016, with Carey flaunting her sparkling engagement ring which at the time, was believed to be worth $10 million. The plan was to get married on March 1, 2016, in a lavish ceremony in Bora-Bora.

They planned the wedding to be two months after the engagement since Carey was to kick off a concert tour beginning in Glasgow two weeks later. However, in the event that her divorce with Nick Cannon would not be finalized by then, they wanted to at least have a "commitment ceremony."

HIS UNROMANTIC PRENUP AGREEMENT

Before their wedding, Packer's team drew up a 37-page pre-nuptial agreement. It stipulated that in the event of a divorce, the singer would be given $6 million per year for each full year of marriage, up to a maximum of $30 million." It also stated that she'd be given a credit card for use by her and her staff.

She was also granted use of one of his private aircraft for her personal use or that of her children and their nannies. Last but not least, he agreed to buy her clothes, excluding those used for her musical performances and tours.

A BUSINESS DEAL?

The prenup did not sit well with Carey, as she believed it to be a business agreement with a five-year plan. She was hoping for their marriage to be full of love, but instead, she was offended by the 37-page document.

Despite the document, they continued on planning their weddings. Plane tickets and hotel reservations were being made for the guests, and Carey had consulted at least four designers on her wedding dress.

SELLING HER RING

The "Always Be My Baby" singer ended up selling the huge 35-carat diamond ring, despite wearing it a couple of times after their split. In the end, Packer revealed that his friend Kerry Stokes was responsible for influencing him to postpone the wedding.

In the end, all Stokes wanted was for Packer to get himself into a better place, especially since he was coming from a gruesome legal battle with his sister over their late father's estate. While Packer was at the time upset that he couldn't see Carey, he followed his friend's advice.

SEPARATED BY OCEANS

Packer's private plane was grounded in Israel, which isolated him from the singer. Carey's staff threatened to report a kidnapping but did not push through with it as they were able to reunite shortly after.

However, despite their reunion, their engagement was falling apart, first because Stokes turned down a request from the international superstar to spend a whopping $250,000 on her wedding dress. At the time, Carey also had a reality TV show called "Mariah's World," something Packer had to be exposed to.

THE END OF THEIR ROMANCE

He did not enjoy the publicity and the fact that he was always being referred to as the "rich boyfriend." While the billionaire never asked to be taken out of the series, his lawyer requested to see consent forms allowing his images to be used. The signed consent forms never came to light.

10 months after their engagement, later in October, they publicized their split after an intense fight in Greece a month prior. All hell broke loose after Carey was allegedly blindsided by an article that read: "IT'S OVER: JAMES PACKER DUMPS MARIAH CAREY."

POINTING FINGERS

It cited unnamed friends of Packer, blaming the breakup on things like Carey's "lavish lifestyle" and her "over-the-top spending sprees." Carey's PR team released a statement denying that these caused the breakup. They added that the couple was trying to work things out.

However, Packer's team dismissed Carey's version of events and clarified that the relationship was indeed over. Although they were never married, Carey fought for an "inconvenience fee" after their split, seeking $50 million. The number was reportedly discussed in their prenup negotiations when they were still planning their wedding.

HER MEMOIR

During the release of her book, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," she did not mention Packer at all. Sources revealed at the time that the superstar's response to the absence of her ex in the book was: "if it was a relationship that mattered, it's in the book."

In 2020, Packer revealed during a rare statement that he had not spoken to his former lover in four years, but there are no hard feelings between them. He added that he did not see an advance copy of the memoir, which is likely because he was not included in it in the first place.

HER NEW-FOUND LOVE

While previous reports showed that Carey requested $50 million from her ex-boyfriend, newer reports show that he actually only shelled out between $6 to 13 million. This amount already includes the "inconvenience fee" and the engagement ring he gave her, which turned out to be worth just a third of $10 million.

Previously, Packer was married to model Jodhi Meares from 1999 to 2002, and Erica Packer from 2007 to 2013. During his first marriage, he became involved with the Church of Scientology and ended up good friends with Tom Cruise.

HER NEW-FOUND LOVE

While her fortune isn't as big as her ex-boyfriend's, Carey has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry since she was a mere teenager. She's had hit after hit and remains to be one of the most influential singers of our time.

At the peak of her breakup with Packer, rumors surfaced of Carey getting cozy with one of her backup dancers, Bryan Tanaka. While they did not confirm or deny anything at the time, it was reported that she had "developed a close relationship with Tanaka."

In the end, Carey and Tanaka ended up making their relationship public by late 2016. They remain a couple up until today, usually sharing snaps of one another on social media.