Mariah Carey's Man Knows His Job Is to Stay in the Background

In every relationship, each partner has a role: one is the dreamer and one is the realist; one is the social butterfly while the other nests at home; or, in the case of Mariah Carey and James Packer, one is the superstar diva and the other is a piece of background furniture. You probably don’t need help figuring out which is which.

The couple first debuted their relationship over a year ago, when Mariah posted a pic of herself nestled between the Australian casino billionaire and her good buddy Brett Ratner. (Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara was also in the shot, but that was hardly newsworthy.) In the photo, the pop diva was clad in a slinky silver gown cut down to there and a pair of oversized sunnies. In other words, she was glammed out to the nines, as always. In contrast, James rocked baggy black track pants, a black T-shirt, and a baseball cap with Ratner’s production company logo on it. Even his casual half-smile was understated alongside her giant grin.

At the time, their romance was new, but it seemed as if the relationship roles were being clearly established, and they’ve both stuck to them with a vengeance ever since. (Hey, if it ain’t broke…)

Most recently, the engaged couple has been chilling on James’s boat, the Arctic P, off the Amalfi Coast — but even while cavorting in the lap of luxury, the 48-year-old businessman lets the “We Belong Together” songstress remain front and center. In an Instagram shot captioned “Pon de boat” (with a smattering of anchor emojis, of course), they both continued to rock their signature styles. She wore a skintight black minidress with a cutout big enough to showcase her black lace bra and accessorized with diamond earrings and fishnet tights. He wore black track pants and a black T-shirt (though, in his defense, at least this one had stripes!).

In another shot, 46-year-old Mariah mugs for the camera in a flashy red minidress while James — sporting black pants, a gray track jacket, white socks, and black shoes (yikes) — snuggles up beside her. It’s probably worth mentioning, however, that Mariah appears to be wearing nylons. With no shoes. On a yacht.

“Happy 4^th of July,” she wrote alongside the candid snap. “Thank you for the #fireworks darling.”

James and Mariah then headed into Capri for a romantic dinner. For the occasion, she sported a low-cut, skintight, black lace cocktail dress with a giant diamond necklace and stilettos. James wore (drumroll please) black track pants, a black T-shirt, and his favorite gray track jacket.

In a picture Mariah posted to Instagram commemorating their meal, which came complete with sparklers, the singer beams at the camera while James flashes his signature no-teeth “I’m sort of smiling but, really, pay attention to her” smile. “#moments,” she wrote alongside the snap.

A video that followed showed James actively straining to lean out of the light of the camera flashes as Mariah happily posed for photos, looking as delighted as a kid in a candy store, with a cake inscribed with the message “We Love You” sitting on the table in front of her. “#festive moments at #aurora #capri,” the mother of two wrote beside the short clip.

James literally leaned back to be out of the frames while she ran her hands through her hair, shook out her golden curls, and danced in her seat. At the end of it all, though, he did plant a kiss on her cheek — but that was after the flashbulbs had stopped going off.

Whether James enjoys being part of the backdrop or whether he simply puts up with it, he certainly seems to have mastered it. The lovebirds got engaged in January after less than a year of dating when he proposed with a ring worth a reported $7.5 million, but they have kept details of their wedding mostly under wraps. It will be the third time down the aisle for each of them. … Hey, maybe the third time really is the charm.