Mariah Carey has been through a lot since she last released an album, from raising her kids with ex-husband Nick Cannon to losing her mom and sister last year. And in a Wednesday (Sept. 24) interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, the pop icon opened up about what her life has been like leading up to the release of her new album, Here for It All.

Starting with the deaths of her mother, Patricia, and sister, Alison, Carey said that even she isn’t sure how she “processed” such major losses after the two women passed away on the same day in August 2024. “I just know that it was extremely difficult for me to navigate, and it was tough, because I have always had an interesting relationship with my mother,” the vocalist told King.

“Towards the end, I was with her the whole time,” she added of her mother. “And so I feel better about that. My sister, I hadn’t seen in years. I feel really badly about that as well, but that’s ‘cause I tend to have a guilt complex about everything. But it’s tough. My sister had an extremely hard life.”

Carey has been open about how strained her relationship was with her mom, who was the source of much “pain” and “betrayal,” according to the five-time Grammy winner’s 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. When asked whether she was able to make peace with Patricia before her death, Carey told King, “I do.”

The singer added, “She said a couple of things to me that were very healing for what I needed.”

The sit-down with CBS Mornings comes just two days ahead of Here for It All, which will mark Mimi’s first album since 2018’s Caution. Complete with guest appearances from Shenseea, Kehlani and The Clark Sisters, the LP features production from Anderson .Paak, who also sings on a track titled “Play This Song.”

In her interview with King, Carey confirmed that she was the one who first reached out to the “brilliant” Silk Sonic musician — who just so happened to join her around Christmastime last year in Aspen, where the pair were spotted holding hands. Of the dating rumors that swirled as a result, Carey told King, “He just likes to hold my hand.”

“He just grabs my hand — I don’t know what he’s doing,” she continued, refusing to confirm the nature of her relationship with .Paak beyond, “It’s something special.”

As for one of her former flames, Carey touched on where she stands with a certain Masked Singer host. The couple were married for six years before splitting in 2014, and they now co-parent their twins, Moroccan and Monroe.

“I kind of feel like it’s best if I don’t talk about him, because he can just be in his own world,” she told King diplomatically of Cannon. “No offense to him.”

Here for It All arrives Friday (Sept. 26). Watch Carey’s full interview with King below.