Rumors have been going on for weeks, and now Mariah Carey’s (54) long-time partner Bryan Tanaka (40) has confirmed the couple’s end to love on Instagram. The dancer, who once met the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” interpreter through his work, writes on the social network: “It is with mixed feelings that I share this personal update regarding my amicable separation from Mariah Carey after seven extraordinary years together .”

Tanaka further explains that the couple made the decision to separate together. The former lovers would continue to have “deep respect” for each other. The dancer goes on to speak of “an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the invaluable time” he was able to spend at the singer’s side. He will “keep the memories of the past years in his heart forever.”

Mariah Carey met Bryan Tanaka in 2006 during one of her tours in which the dancer took part. But it wasn’t until ten years later that the professional relationship turned into love. Since then, Carey and Tanaka have always toured together. Breakup rumors arose when Tanaka stopped appearing as a dancer in Carey’s show for the first time during the singer’s current “Merry Christmas One and All!” tour. The couple’s last Instagram post together also dates back to March 2023.

Mariah Carey has not yet made a statement on the matter. Her official Instagram channel shows that she spent Christmas in the snow with her children Moroccan (12) and Monroe (12). She shares the twins with US comedian Nick Cannon (43), to whom Carey was married from 2008 to 2016 before her relationship with Tanaka.