Did she lose her “Santa Baby”? Mariah Carey and Bryan Tanaka have seemingly split after dating for seven years. The singer kicked off her Merry Christmas One and All! tour in November 2023, and Bryan hasn’t been seen at any of the shows. His absence has caused speculation that the two of them are done with their relationship.
A source also told PEOPLE that Mariah plans on celebrating the holidays without Bryan and instead, will be with her 12-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe. It will mark the first time the seemingly former lovebirds haven’t spent the holidays together for years. More recently, Mariah was spotted going solo for an outing in Aspen, Colorado. She sported a white puffer jacket on the vacation without her longtime partner, via Page Six.
Bryan, 40, has been a longtime dancer on Mariah’s stage for over a decade, so it isn’t odd that fans noticed he was nowhere to be found during the 54-year-old icon’s most recent set of shows starting on Wednesday, November 15. In addition to being one of the “We Belong Together” singer’s dedicated dancers, he also serves as her creative director.
“We need Bryan Tanaka back!!!” one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote after Mariah’s first Christmas tour show. “I don’t see Bryan Tanaka. Where is he?” a separate person asked in the comment section of a video of the concert.
Another red flag concerning Mariah and Bryan’s romance is that the couple have been radio silent about each other on social media in recent months. Bryan has not shared anything on his feed since wishing his dad a Happy Father’s Day earlier this year, and prior to that, he celebrated his seven-year anniversary with the “Fantasy” singer on March 27. As for Mariah, her beau hasn’t appeared on her Instagram grid since December 2022.
Mariah and Bryan began dating in 2016 on the heels of her split from billionaire fiancé James Packer. The dancer recalled that they clicked right away and knew they would always be “connected.”
“Something connected with us back in the day and there was just a mutual admiration,” Bryan previously told E! News about his early work with the songstress. “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 gonna be connected some way, somehow.” The pair have experienced many ups and downs over the years, including a reported split in 2017. However, they were spotted kissing shortly after, solidifying their relationship.
In addition to Bryan’s support of the “Always Be My Baby” singer, a source previously told Hollywood Life that he has a close bond with her children, twins Monroe and Moroccan, whom she shares with ex-husband Nick Cannon. “Bryan is a great role model to her kids and is so close to them,” the source exclusively told HL in December 2022. “They look at him like a second father, but they do not call him dad. That word is reserved for Nick who is very active in his children’s lives.
Most recently, a source confirmed the split to Page Six on December 20, 2023, and revealed that their age gap “played a role” in the split. “He wants to have a family. That’s not where she is at,” the insider told the tabloid. Meanwhile, a separate source told Page Six that Bryan is ready to live a separate life from Mimi. “He wants to start having his own life,” they said. The now exes are 14 years apart, as Mariah is 54 years old and Bryan is just kicking off his 40s.
Later that same day, Mariah took to Instagram to share photos from her visit to the White House with her kiddos. The blonde beauty met with President Joe Biden for a special holiday event. “Last week I had the pleasure of meeting President Biden & Vice President Harris at the White House to ring in the holiday season! While there, we got to see all the festive decor and spread some cheer!” she captioned the post. For the festive outing, Mimi rocked a sequined black cocktail dress with a matching blazer.