James Packer and Mariah Carey made headlines the world over when they entered into what can only be described as a ‘whirlwind’ romance in 2015 — dating one minute, engaged the next and, well, donesville not too long after that.
Speaking with The Weekend Australian, the casino mogul has finally broken his silence on just what went wrong.
And, according to the billionaire, lavish spending, the Church of Scientology and reality tv ventures — just a few of the reasons why the couple are rumoured to have called it quits — had nothing to do with it.
James, 50, said that he was in billions of dollars worth of debt when he met the hitmaker after borrowing big in the hopes of providing his sister Gretel with some of the money left in their father Kerry Packer’s estate. He was also losing money on a separate Hollywood venture.
“I was at a low point in my personal life,” he said.
“Documenting the negotiations with my sister was taking longer than expected. Brett Ratner put Mariah and me together. She was kind, exciting and fun. Mariah is a woman of substance. She is very bright.”
He added: “But it was a mistake for her and a mistake for me.”
The businessman declined to comment further, leaving some of the biggest questions of the history-making split unanswered: Did Mariah keep the $10 million engagement ring (a whopping 35 carats, in case you were wondering)? And did the singer-songwriter really walk away with a $50 million dollar settlement?
When it comes to the reasons surrounding their split, it’s a very different story for the diva of all divas…
Mimi and the mogul took their love public in 2015, stepping out in Capri.
According to Page Six, Mimi blames the Church of Scientology for the couple’s break-up.
Sources close to Camp Mimi previously alleged that James’ business manager, Tommy Davis, who used to be a spokesperson for the Church, had come in between the once-besotted pair.
Not only that, but the insiders suggested that Tommy had taken a hold of James’ finances and had put the casino mogul on what the Church refers to as “purification rundown” – a detoxification program.
“Mariah is suspicious of Tommy, who has been managing James’ finances, and she suspects he is controlling him,” the source told the publication.
WATCH: Mariah and James announce their engagement in the video below. Post continues…
At the time, James’ insiders strongly refuted these claims. Instead, they attributed Mariah’s excessive spending to the downfall of the relationship.
“His relationship with Mariah ended because she is a diva,” the insider explained.
“She has an entourage around her, and she’s filming a TV show, which is a crazy world that James doesn’t want to be involved with.”
The way they were! Watch Mariah dedicate her song “Hero” to her then-fiance James in the clip below.
