--- description: The proposal took place in her hometown of New York City title: Mariah Carey and James Packer Are Engaged image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a0b26ecc2005140/69887a1f8e0601f7334643a8/494455694.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mariah Carey and James Packer Are Engaged by [Melody Chiu / People](/author/people/) ## Melody Chiu / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 22, 2016 7:05 AM CUT  James Packer, co-chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. and singer Mariah Carey stand for photographs in Macau, China, on Oct. 27, 2015. James Packer, co-chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. and singer Mariah Carey stand for photographs in Macau, China, on Oct. 27, 2015.Justin Chin—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Melody Chiu / People](/author/people/) ## Melody Chiu / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 22, 2016 7:05 AM CUT Congratulations are in order – [Mariah Carey](http://www.people.com/people/mariah%5Fcarey "undefined") and [James Packer](http://www.people.com/article/mariah-carey-james-packer-aspen-christmas-photos "undefined") are engaged! The proposal took place in her hometown of New York City on Thursday evening, PEOPLE has learned. Carey, 45, and Packer, 48, – an Australian businessman – first met at the _Hercules_ premiere “a few years ago”, [she told Steve Harvey](http://www.people.com/article/mariah-carey-lucky-to-be-dating-james-packer-steve-harvey "undefined") last year. They made their [red carpet debut](http://www.people.com/article/mariah-carey-james-packer-red-carpet-debut "undefined") in September last year at _The Intern_ premiere in New York City after being photographed getting cozy while on an Italian vacation in June. Shortly before Christmas, the couple headed to Aspen, Colorado with the singer’s 4-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex-husband [Nick Cannon](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:NickCannon,00.html "undefined"). This will be the third marriage for Carey, who was also previously married to music executive Tommy Mottola. Packer has three young children with his ex-wife Erica Baxter. [_E! News_](http://eonline.com/news/731548/mariah-carey-and-james-packer-are-engaged "undefined") were first to report the engagement. [_This article originally appeared on People.com_](http://www.people.com/article/mariah-carey-and-james-packer-engaged "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4189864/mariah-carey-james-packer-engaged/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4189864/mariah-carey-james-packer-engaged/"},"headline":"Mariah Carey and James Packer Are Engaged","datePublished":"2016-01-22T07:05:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:21:17.462Z","description":"The proposal took place in her hometown of New York City","url":"https://time.com/4189864/mariah-carey-james-packer-engaged/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a0b26ecc2005140/69887a1f8e0601f7334643a8/494455694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melody Chiu / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a0b26ecc2005140/69887a1f8e0601f7334643a8/494455694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Opening Of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd.'s Studio City Casino Resort","caption":"Opening Of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd.'s Studio City Casino Resort","creditText":"Justin Chin—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4189864/mariah-carey-james-packer-engaged/","name":"Mariah Carey and James Packer Are Engaged"}}]}] ```