It looks like all Mariah wants for Christmas is some new digs, and who is her billionaire boyfriend James Packer not to oblige. The perhaps unlikely pair have shifted their relationship into overdrive, making it more than official by moving on in together.
Image credit: Women’s Day Australia
The 45-year-old songstress, and mother to twins Moroccan and Monroe, has moved everything but the kitchen sink a stone’s throw from her own pad to Packer’s Beverly Hills mansion. It’s been a whirlwind romance for the couple, the big step coming after just five months of dating.
Movers were seen with clothes, bedding and furniture, reported TMZ. We’re sure he wont have a problem finding room for her infamous lingerie closet.
After splitting with ex Nick Cannon just last year, concluding six years of marriage, it seems the Dreamlover star didn’t have to wait long to be swept of her feet by our Aussie playboy.
Packer split from his wife of six years and mother to his three children, Erica Baxter, in 2013. Rumors abound that he was romancing model Miranda Kerr, but the relationship was never confirmed.
James and Mariah have been acquainted for years, recently reconnecting through mutual friend Brett Ratner, a business partner of Packer’s and the creative force behind Carey’s new film clip, Infinity. TMZ confirmed that Packer had been “aggressively pursuing Mariah for months.”
Image credit: Splash Australia
He certainly seems to be smitten, his staff at Perth Crown reporting – or perhaps complaining – that his new lady’s tunes play on loop in the casino and hotel. Not one to shy away from a business partnership, the casino mogul has bought a 20% stake in the performer’s Nobu restaurant chain for $100 million.
Things just couldn’t be going better for the songstress either, feathering her hat with a voiceover role in the new Batman spin-off Lego movie and stepping behind the camera to direct a Hallmark Channel film.
The golden couple were first spotted together in June on the Mediterranean, aboard the billionaire beau’s yacht Arctic P. The atmosphere was far from frosty though, with the two strolling hand in hand around the island of Capri.
In July, during her residency at Caesars in Las Vegas, the singer dedicated her fan favourite Hero to James. “I’ve got a new heart tonight,” she told the crowd. “James is in my heart tonight.” Her beloved beau watched on. After the show she posted a glowing photo from the green room to Instagram with the caption: “Happy backstage right before last night’s show …#NTT “‘If you look inside your heart,” she wrote.
In September, their relationship went officially public at a screening of The Intern. There seems to be nothing staged or contrived about the romance, with Mariah telling Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t think either one of us thought, ‘Here we are, making a debut.’ He’s not that guy. It was a lot for him … I just automatically pose. I can’t help it!” When asked if she gave him any tips on posing for the paparazzi, she joked, “If I did that, I would have had to coach him instead of posing then I’d look bad in pictures.”
She told the reporter that the two were having “fun”. Aww. “It’s fun, I’m not gonna lie,” she said. A respectfully demure romance, the two didn’t hold hands or kiss for photographers, instead sharing a little smooch after walking away from the photo pool.
In October, Packer brought the glitz and glam of Hollywood, including girlfriend, to the launch of his new $4.5 billion casino in Macau.
Image credit: Instagram – @mariahcarey
It was only the second time the pair stepped out publicly since their romance began, walking arm-in-arm on the red carpet at the opening of the Studio City Casino. Others to attend were actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese.
The news of the shack-up comes a week after the couple hosted Mariah’s annual Halloween bash, with estranged husband Nick Cannon and her children in attendance. Mariah dressed as sexy witch with James – renowned for shying away from the ostentatious – wore a suit and phantom mask.
While it’s a bit early to say where all this will lead, given their common penchant for putting a ring on it, we’re getting ready for one hell of a party.