A fling with baseball great Derek Jeter served as the “catalyst” for Mariah Carey‘s divorce from her ex-husband Tommy Mottola.
The superstar and the music mogul separated in 1998 after Carey was caught creeping with the promiscuous NY Yankees superstar. Carey confesses her romance with the sportsman made her realize she wanted out of her loveless marriage.
Carey, best known for her 5-octave vocal range, was married to Mottola from June 1993 until March 1998. Mottola was 12 years her senior.
Promoting her upcoming memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, on The Oprah Conversation, the singer said, “[Jeter] was a catalyst that helped me get out of that relationship because I believed that there was somebody else [for me].”
Carey, pictured with then-husband Mottola in 1996, stopped short of calling Jeter the love of her life: “I didn’t think I would ever meet anybody who wouldn’t… feel superior to me… But he was a catalyst. And I think that it was beautiful.”
Mariah, 50, recently revealed her romance with the former New York Yankees star inspired two of her songs – “The Roof” and “My All.”
She and ex-husband Nick Cannon share twins – son Moroccan and daughter Monroe. They separated in 2014.
She was briefly engaged to businessman James Packer in 2016 and began dating current boyfriend Bryan Tanaka (pictured) in 2018.
