Why Mariah Carey Fans Think She Is Single Again

Brian Tanaka and Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey, the self-declared Queen of Christmas, may be spending the holiday season as a single woman—at least, that's what her fans have speculated.

The "All I Want for Christmas Is You" singer and her backup dancer boyfriend, Bryan Tanaka, have been dating since 2016 (with a brief break in 2017). However, rumors that Carey is single once again started swirling in November.

Although Tanaka has performed on Carey's tours for many years, he was noticeably absent on Wednesday, Nov. 15, during her Merry Christmas One and All! show in Highland, Calif. Fans also noticed Carey's holiday spirit seemed oddly lacking.

One Instagram user commented on a post from the performance, "I hope everything is ok ❤️ your energy seems off 😔."

Another person wrote on Instagram, "Amazing looks, voice, but something on the inside ain’t right. Her face shows it all. Hope she pulls through whatever it is."

On X (formerly Twitter), someone else wrote, "I’m worried. It’s like she’s not there even with interviews she looks so done."

Another X user replied, "She just had a heartbreak from her (cordial) breakup with Bryan. She's sad at the moment."

Carey and Tanaka have been noticeably quiet on social media for months. In fact, Carey's most recent post featuring her boyfriend dates all the way back to December 2022.

She captioned the Dec. 26 Instagram post, which featured a photo of her and Tanaka smiling sweetly, "Happy Boxing Day! ❄️🎄❤️ (Every day is a celebration! 🎉🎉🎁)."

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Meanwhile, Tanaka's most recent Instagram post with Carey is from March. "This is one of my favorite pictures. Ever. Happy Anniversary my Beautiful Queen. 🦋3/27🦋❤️," he wrote.

On top of that, Tanaka hasn't been active on Instagram since June.

What do you think about the breakup rumors?

Next: Surprisingly, Mariah Carey's Favorite Christmas Song Isn't Her Own