Mariah Carey Felt Like a 'Prisoner' in Tommy Mottola

Marriage During a recent interview with Cosmopolitan Magazine, Mariah Carey opens up about her first marriage with music industry executive, Tommy Mottola.  “There was a conscious effort to keep me as this all-American, whatever that means, girl. It was very controlled. There was no freedom for me as a human being. It was almost like being a prisoner,” says Carey. The couple got married in 1993 when Carey was only 23, she described herself as a “child bride.” The marriage ended in 1997. When asked about the marriage years later, Mottola described it as “wrong and inappropriate” due to their huge age difference.