Mariah Carey Reveals How Diddy Once Caused Tensions in Her Marriage with Ex Tommy Mottola: 'I Was Pissed'

Mariah Carey ended up in a volatile marriage with her second husband, Tommy Mottola. In her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, she explains that the couple's fierce battles partly began when she became a fan of Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Mottola, who married Carey in 1993, has also been described by the singer as a stifling force in her life, limiting her freedom and friendships.

"It felt like he was cutting off my circulation," she said, as quoted by The List.

"I couldn't talk to anyone that wasn't under Tommy's control. I couldn't go out or do anything with anybody. I couldn't move freely in my own house."

Carey, who had similarly looked up to Diddy throughout his musical career, was shocked by Mottola's disrespectful comments, which she deemed "blatantly racist."

"It was one of the very few times I stood up to Tommy," she added, expressing her anger at his comments.

However, when Mottola expressed skepticism about Diddy's prospects in the music business, Carey managed to put her foot down.

Mottola reportedly dismissed Diddy, saying, "Puffy will be shining my shoes in two years," a comment that deeply offended Carey.

"I was pissed," she recalled.

During a dinner with another music executive, the tension between the couple heightened when Carey commended Diddy and his label Bad Boy Records for their impact on contemporary music.

Mottola exploded, pounding on the table with his fist, and declared, "I just want everybody to know that THANKSGIVING IS CANCELLED!"

Carey was also rumored to be dating Diddy around the time of his and Carey's split as well.

Carey jokingly dismissed the speculation a bit in a 1998 interview with MTV and said, "We're not together, just so the world knows. I love Puffy," before clarifying that they were merely friends.

According to The List, one element of her decision to leave Mottola is that Carey had developed a friendship with hip-hop artist Da Brat.

After an outing with Brat sparked a panic in Mottola, Carey realized the situation was dire.

"If Da Brat, a nineteen-year-old female rapper from the West Side, is afraid for you, you know the situation has got to be dire," she said.

In the end, speaking to Oprah, it was Carey's affair with baseball great Derek Jeter in 1998 that spurred her divorce from Mottola.

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Mariah Carey, Diddy