Inside Mariah Carey & Bryan Tanaka's Break Up After Seven Years Together

Mariah Carey is reportedly not getting all she wants for Christmas this year...unless it's a new boyfriend. 

New claims have surfaced about the renowned singer being single again after allegedly partying ways with her boyfriend, Bryan Tanaka. The pair were together for seven years, with the backup dancer often showing off his moves on the stage behind Carey.

Since commencing her "Merry Christmas One and All!" tour in mid-November, Tanaka has been noticeably absent from Carey's performances, prompting fans to speculate about a potential split from her longtime boyfriend.

According to a source, the mother-of-two is celebrating the holidays in Aspen without the 44-year-old, who has been known to join her on the getaway. Thus, it is the first time in years that Carey and her creative director have not traveled together for the holidays.

The flames of their breakup were further fanned when the entertainer posted two images of herself on social media. While the first photo showed her mid-performance on stage, the second appeared to have been captured in her dressing room.

Upon seeing the slides, fans observed that Carey was not her usual jovial self, and they promptly aired their thoughts. "I hope everything is ok your energy seems off," one person noted in the comment section, as another penned, "Amazing looks, voice, but something on the inside ain't right. Her face shows it all. Hope she pulls through whatever it is."

A third Instagram user asked, "Mother Mariah are u okay? you seem off lately. Sending hugs for my Queen," a fourth wondered if her heart was broken and a fifth lengthily commented:

"Mariah!!! We love you. I LOVE YOU. You've literally saved my life on several occasions. You look incredible and sound incredible! It's none of our business we know Queen but it is because we love and are concerned, we have all noticed how down and off you've been in interviews and while performing. You've been very cut throat blunt in interviews. We hope you're ok! Always here for you like you've been here for US."

Over on X, where a clip of her "Christmas Time Is In The Air Again" performance surfaced, somebody else expressed, "I'm worried. It's like she's not there even with interviews she looks so done."

In response, another X user disclosed, "She just had a heartbreak from her (cordial) breakup with Bryan. She's sad at the moment."

Notably, Carey and Tanaka's most recent public appearance together was in March when the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" hitmaker celebrated her birthday, fondly referred to as her "anniversary." 

Per PEOPLE, Tanaka posted a photo on Instagram, capturing a moment of the two smiling and embracing, accompanied by a sweet caption that read, "This is one of my favorite pictures. Ever. Happy Anniversary my Beautiful Queen. 🦋3/27🦋❤️."

The couple first met in 2006 when Tanaka joined the superstar on her "Adventures of Mimi" tour. Speaking on their initial connection and work together, the choreographer shared:

"Something connected with us back in the day and there was just a mutual admiration. 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."

Despite that assurance, it still took the duo time to become romantically involved as Carey was engaged to James Packer at the time. As PEOPLE revealed, the famous songbird's bond with Tanaka was so intense that Packer expressed concerns about his then-fiancée's closeness to the dancer before their engagement came to an end. 

Shortly after the news of Carey and Packer ending their engagement surfaced, the Grammy Awards winner gathered a group of friends, including Tanaka, for a night out in Malibu. 

They then fueled relationship rumors when they were seen sharing intense public displays of affection on a beach during the 2016 Thanksgiving weekend. Carey and Tanaka turned the heat up even more in February 2017 with a steamy Valentine's Day snap on Instagram.

A few days later, the lovebirds sealed their affair with a picture of them locking lips alongside the caption, "No one knows what it means, but it's provocative … it gets the people going!"

Even though they took a brief break later in 2017, Carey and Tanaka reunited and began spending all their time together by going on dates, attending events together, and vacationing in Aspen, Colorado.

Tanaka also got to spend time with his girlfriend's children — twins Moroccan and Monroe — who he seemingly cherished. In the words of one insider in 2021, "Mariah is really happy. He's always doting on her, and they have a great time together. He's also great with her kids."