News of Mariah Carey and James Packer calling off their engagement has only been public for 36 hours or so.
But the narrative has already changed a number of times, following initial reports that claimed Packer simply grew sick of Carey’s excessive spending habits.
At first, outlets wrote that Packer was turned off by Carey’s upcoming E! reality show and decided that he had had enough of his fiancee’s diva attitude.
And that may still be correct, we suppose.
But then TMZ reported on something that happened between Carey and Packer in Greece, alleging that some kind of incident took place between the billionaire businessman and one of Carey’s assistants.
This rumor then turned even uglier when we heard the encounter was “violent” in nature.
On Thursday night, three different outlets (TMZ, People Magazine, E! News) all shared quotes from anonymous insiders that claimed Packer is mentally unstable.
“James is not in a mentally healthy place right now and he has not been present for her,” one source said, adding:
“Unfortunately, his absence and behavior was not a good situation for her, so she had to leave him.”
Now, E! and TMZ are also reporting that Carey has gotten close to backup dancer Brian Tanaka.
Over the past few weeks, during her estranged period with Packer, Carey “developed a close relationship” with Tanaka, according to an E! insider.
And this isn’t mere talk.
TMZ has shared a video that actually features Carey out for sushi with Tanaka on Thursday night. The two shared a meal at Nobu in Malibu, which is telling in and of itself.
Why? Because Nobu is the sort of establishment people go to when they want their picture taken.
Paparazzi are known to hang out there, just waiting for celebrities to film.
In other words: Carey knew what she was doing and was likely sending a message to Packer.
According to TMZ, Packer had it out with Tanaka in Carey’s Las Vegas dressing room a little while back, actually getting the dancer banned from Caesar’s Palace in the process.
Meanwhile, in a separate report, TMZ claims that Carey is demanding $ 50 million from Packer. For what possible reason?!?
Because, in her view, Packer has cost the singer a fortune.
She says he got her to move from New York to Los Angeles, uprooting her entire life in the process, so he could be near his children.
She also claims the aforementioned incident on the yacht in Greece has traumatized Carey to such an extent she had to cancel the South American leg of her tour.
She alleges that Packer made certain financial promises to her.
We can’t say for certain if any of this is true.
All we can say for certain is that Carey and Packer met in 2014 at a movie premiere in Aspen, Colorado; that the Australian proposed in January 2016 with a 35-carat diamond ring; and that this romance is very much over.