Mariah Carey and James Packer attend the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Photo / Getty Images
Mariah Carey and James Packer attend the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Photo / Getty Images
Billionaire James Packer has finally spoken on his doomed engagement to singer Mariah Carey and why it fell apart.
The businessman, who just turned 50, told The Weekend Australian he was not in a good place when he started dating Carey.
He says when he met Carey in2015 he was in billions of dollars worth of debt after borrowing big to provide sister Gretel with some of the money left in their father Kerry Packer's estate. He was also losing money on his Hollywood venture, RatPac, with friend Brett Ratner, reports News.com.au.
"I was at a low point in my personal life," Packer said. "Documenting the negotiations with my sister was taking longer than expected. Brett Ratner put Mariah and me together.
"She was kind, exciting and fun. Mariah is a woman of substance. She is very bright. But it was a mistake for her and a mistake for me."
He declines to comment further, including about whether Carey got to keep the $10 million engagement ring and if she requested a $50 million settlement when they split.
Mariah Carey And James Packer are seen in Portofino, 2015. Photo / Getty Images
Carey was reportedly heartbroken after Packer called things off.
When asked about Packer's whereabouts earlier this year, she said: "I don't know where the motherf**ker is."
Packer also reveals in the wideranging interview some strain in his relationship with Ratner, however it is more to do with RatPac and less to do with him setting up his mate with Carey.
"My disappointment ... is there were three sides to the business: the Warner Brothers slate that we broke even on, the stuff we did in China that we broke even on, and the films (Ratner) picked that we lost money on. His job was to pick films and to help us raise further capital."
The bromance between James Paker and Brett Ratner appears to have cooled a little. Photo / Getty Images
"If I was going to deal with getting out of Macau, the last thing I needed was to be in RatPac, which was losing money. People going around saying I was doing this to party ... [it's] unfair and not what (Warner Bros CEO) Kevin Tsujihara or Steve Mnuchin would say.
"Brett is a force of nature. Our relationship is OK. Let's just say I did more for Brett than he did for me. But it was amicable with Brett in the end."
