Mariah Carey sells James Packer’s engagement ring for a bargain price
Mariah Carey, James Packer and the engagement ring in New York on May 14, 2016. Photo: Getty
Almost two years after her split from James Packer, Mariah Carey has sold the 35-carat diamond engagement ring he gave her, according to reports.
The whopper sparkler was a bone of contention between the exes when the business mogul pulled the pin in 2016 on his spotlit, cruise-studded engagement to the five-time Grammy winner.
A source said Carey, 48, had a business manager quietly sell it to a Los Angeles jeweller for $2.7 million, the New York Post reported.
The ring, which Carey called “a nice chunk”, had been widely reported to be worth well north of $13.2 million.
“Mariah has been very vocal recently about her choice to move forward in her life surrounded by positivity,” Carey’s publicist told the Post.
“That requires leaving emotional and material baggage behind, including an old engagement ring from an ex-boyfriend.”
Carey, with the ring, had planned her wedding dress before the split. Photo: Instagram
Mr Packer, 50, was not named in the story as the ex in question, but subsequent reports claim the ring was from him.
“A confidentiality agreement was signed, but the jeweller is currently selling it, and there’s only one such ring,” the Post source said.
An anonymous Carey confidante also scotched any suggestion the fire sale was because of financial necessity: “She owns multiple homes, her entire catalogue of music, and she’s had numerous successful tours and residencies.”
Certainly Carey, who opened up in April about her battle with bipolar disorder, has seemed unconcerned by commercial or sentimental concerns in her most recent Instagram posts.
Via her social accounts, she’s sent birthday greetings to singer Patti LaBelle, showcased her table tennis skills, spruiked her new Las Vegas show and shared a snap of herself having dessert with daughter Monroe Cannon, 7.
The now-infamous bauble was part of a financial settlement agreed on between Mr Packer and Carey in late 2017 after their contentious split.
As reported by The Blast, the deal saw Carey receive between $6.6 and $13 million, considerably less than the $50 million she was said to have wanted for moving from New York to LA to live with Mr Packer.
The flashy diamond ring was included in that figure, according to the outlet, which said it cost less than the $66 million it was previously appraised at.
Despite the reported deal, Life and Style magazine claimed in January that Mr Packer had a change of heart. “He’s told pals he wants his ring back,” the magazine quoted a source as saying.
The Australian billionaire popped the question to Carey in New York with the massive rock in January 2016, seven months after they first canoodled publicly during a Mediterranean holiday aboard his boat, the Arctic P.
“It’s so heavy I can’t lift my arm up!” Carey joked about the ring.
It was to be Mr Packer’s third marriage, and also Carey’s.
But in October 2016, People magazine confirmed the couple had split and things quickly went sour.
“I was at a low point in my personal life,” Mr Packer told The Weekend Australian in October 2017 of the doomed whirlwind romance.
“She was kind, exciting and fun. Mariah is a woman of substance. But it was a mistake for her and a mistake for me.”
After the break up, Carey frequently wore the ring when out on the town with her next boyfriend, dancer Bryan Tanaka, before their split last year.
