The singer has explained what happened between them a few times, ultimately saying it was “egos and emotions” which got in the way.
In her autobiography, Mariah wrote: “Honestly, I think Nick and I could have worked it out between the two of us, but egos and emotions got inflamed (which can translate into many billable lawyer hours, and ultimately it did)…
“It was tough. We both wanted to make sure everything was cool for our family.
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Mariah met Nick when working on the music video for her song Bye Bye, which was released in 2008.
That same year they married in The Bahamas, getting matching tattoos to commemorate their relationship.
Nick said at the time: “To me, rings are special and exciting, but tattoos mean more than anything. They’re forever and ever. They professed our love.”
This was a difficult time for them, as the twins were born prematurely at 35 weeks after a tough pregnancy for Mariah.
She told ABC how during her pregnancy she suffered from high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, which also causes high blood pressure.
Mariah said: “I was afraid I wasn’t going to able to walk properly again. It was a huge strain.
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“It was just like, ‘What are we doing? Are we going to the hospital?’
“‘No, I’m going to stick it out, I’m going to keep taking this medicine to keep these babies in.’”
Eventually, at 35 weeks, her doctor informed her she would need a Caesarean section to ensure the babies were delivered safely.
Nick told Yahoo: “There is trouble in paradise. We have been living in separate houses for a few months. My main focus is my kids.”
In 2020 Nick too spoke out about their relationship breakdown, saying they had “sensible conversations” in the lead up to their split.
He told Variety: “I can’t ever remember us having arguments and there being negative energy of ‘This isn’t working’ and all of that stuff. We had very sensible conversations.
“We talked everything out. What if this and what if that. We talked about how much fun it would be if we just got married three weeks into knowing each other.
“It was more that whimsical fantasy idea of let’s have as much fun as we possibly can and when it no longer feels like fun, when it feels like a task and a job, then we should amicably be able to move on.”
Nick added how the birth of his twins meant the couple would try to live “for the betterment of our children” and maintain that view even after their split.
Now Mariah has been in a relationship with choreographer Bryan Tanaka for several years, and Nick has welcomed two further children with on/off partner, model Britney Bell.