Mariah Carey Dating Boyfriend Who Is 12 Years Younger — She Doesn't 'Count Years' & Ignores Online Trolls about Age Gap

Mariah Carey is a real diva of the stage in her 50s! But besides her career, she is also a woman who is able to boldly follow her happiness and true love - even with a difference in age, even with condemnations from the outside!

The talented songstress is in her 50s but does not commemorate her birthdays. The superstar believes she will always be 18, which is how she celebrates life, she told James Corden on "The Late Late Show" Carpool Karaoke in 2015.

Carey turned 50 years old on March 27, 2020, but she reportedly despises the word "birthday" so much that she would instead celebrate an "anniversary."

"I don't count years. I rebuke them. I have anniversaries, not birthdays, because I celebrate life, darling," the singer-songwriter once said. Not even her kids are allowed to utter the word birthday.

Despite her age, Carey, who once stated, "that's why my age stays 18," has maintained her youthful look and previously claimed that it is all thanks to her diet consisting of only "salmon and capers" and working out three times a week.

Concerning her physical appearance, in July 2018, the New York native wrote on Twitter, alongside a GIF, that she does not utilize a particular social media app to enhance her pictures: "FaceApp is not something I acknowledge."

Months before, Carey posted a photo of herself holding her pup and tweeted: "I don't get this ten-year challenge. This time is not something I acknowledge. *Picture taken at some point prior to today."

On her 50th birthday, the "We Belong Together" hitmaker posted a selfie in the studio with her beaming. "Starting 327 with a new song," she captioned her post.

Fans trolled Carey in the comments section stating she was beginning to look more her age. "Wow! You look so old," said one Instagram user.

Another person commented on her weight: "Did not age well, and you got fat." A third individual wrote, "Mariah looks older here 50 now."

Carey Is in a Relationship with Someone 12 Years Younger

Carey has also faced heavy criticism for her dating life. The five-time Grammy Award winner is currently dating her choreographer, Bryan Tanaka, who she started working with back in 2006. He served as her backup dancer at the time on her Adventures of Mimi tour.

However, the pair only began dating in 2016 after she broke off her engagement to Australian billionaire businessman James Packer. Following the breakup news, Carey invited some friends, including Tanaka, for a night out in Malibu.

An insider revealed at the time that the record producer seemed to have fun throughout the evening and wanted to prove something to Packer:

"She was with a group of friends. She had fun and sipped champagne. She was very dressed up, wore her engagement ring, and seemed in a great mood. She wanted to show James that she isn’t sitting at home crying. She doesn’t seem too concerned."

In November 2016, Carey and Tanaka sparked relationship rumors after being spotted packing up on the PDA at a beach over Thanksgiving weekend. The duo headed to Maui's Grand Wailea Resort in Hawaii when she was not having a good time enjoying the holiday with her loved ones.

The two continued to go out together until Carey admitted they were dating. When asked about her relations with Tanaka, she let it slip that he was indeed her lover:

"I’m just going to be like ‘I don’t talk about my personal life. Because that’s what I used to do and it worked for a minute, back, a while ago. I just don't feel comfortable talking about my personal life. Me and my boyfriend don’t want to do that."

Meanwhile, Tanaka confessed in December 2016 at Mariah's World premiere party that he has always had feelings for her: "I've always had a thing for Mariah. I love her so much. "

The creative director said the couple's romance is based on years of friendship. As for what makes their relationship unique, Tanaka divulged they admire each other:

"Something connected with us back in the day, and there was just a mutual admiration. She saw something in me that I actually didn't recognize at first, from that, it was over. It was set in history that we were going to be connected some way, somehow."

The dancer recalled how he and the actress first met in the 2000s and explained he was still "a young buck" and was new to the showbiz industry when he began working with Carey.

Tanaka added that they have both gone through many things since that period. He "grew up, I turned into a man, and she's gone through so much," said the Washington native.

Tanaka & Carey Are Still Going Strong

Years later, the Hollywood pair are still together despite skepticism that their relationship would not last. On Valentine's Day in February 2017, Carey shared a photo of the lovebirds posing in a bathtub and captioned it: "Happy Valentine’s Day!! #happyvalentinesday #happy #moments #bubbles.”

Instagram users flooded the comments section and left negative remarks on her post. One user said Carey is way beyond her years to be still "hopping" from one relationship to another, adding she needed to contain herself and be a role model for her daughter.

"They're not going to last," said one person. A third user stated the age gap between Carey and Tanaka was apparent just by looking at the snapshot: "What?? Now there's a big age difference there!"

Regardless of the backlash, when Carey celebrated "Boxing Day" on December 2022, she still posted images of her and Tanaka, including her twins, son Moroccan and daughter Monroe.

She usually shares photos of her and her boyfriend out on dates on social media. In May 2017, Carey posted a picture of the couple having a milkshake from the same cup and wrote: "#FBF."

Tanaka celebrated Halloween with his girlfriend and her kids in October 2019. The mother of two shared photos of the foursome posing with pumpkins marking the celebration.

That was not the only time Tanaka bonded with Carey and the kids. He and her former husband, Nick Cannon, and the brood celebrated Christmas in Aspen, Colorado, in December 2019.

A month before, Tanaka joined Carey, Cannon, the children, and some family members and friends for Thanksgiving. The "All I Want For Christmas Is You" singer posted several pictures from their evening.

One image showed her and Cannon posing while holding their kids, and another of her and Tanaka while holding hands. "Happy Thanksgiving! Thankful for all the blessings in my life," she penned.