When Derek Jeter's mother presented Mariah Carey with a thoughtful gift

Derek Jeter and Mariah Carey were together for a year, but their relationship became the talk of the town, especially after their breakup. This was due to Carey releasing her memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey." She spoke more about this in a 2020 interview with Andy Cohen.

"It was really the main thing about that moment for me. Just knowing that there was somebody who was just like me."

Carey and Jeter broke up in 1998 but there seems to be no bad blood between the two. Remembering their relationship, she explained that what attracted her most to Derek Jeter was their similarities.

Mariah described how him being biracial was what first drew her in. She, who is biracial herself, felt connected to Jeter because of it. Carey always felt unambiguous towards her race, feeling that she didn't completely belong to either of her roots:

"He has a beautiful family. I love his sister and his mother gave me a book by Maya Angelou."

Mariah became candid in the interview and elaborated on how close she was to Jeeter's family. Even after the breakup with the former Yankees captain, she only had good things to say about him.

She said that Jeter's mother had gifted her a Maya Angelou book. Dorothy Jeter is an Irish woman who is married to an African-American man, Sanderson Jeter. As Mariah was uncomfortable with the feeling of not belonging to either of her roots, she felt grateful for the thoughtful gift.

When Derek Jeter helped Mariah Carey leave her abusive relationship.

Mariah Carey revealed that Derek Jeter was the catalyst for her divorce from her abusive ex-husband Tommy Mottola.

"I didn't feel connected to anybody. I was in an abusive relationship and I know that it was and he became a catalyst for me."

She revealed how her ex-husband was abusive to her both physically and emotionally. She said that she never felt comfortable in her own skin with him, was demoralized and often felt she wasn't good enough.

But Derek Jeter helped her to feel wanted and understand what a healthy relationship feels like. When the couple started dating, Carey was in the process of getting a divorce. Their love is still looked upon with fondness by their fans. Mariah even wrote the songs "My All" and "The Roof" about him.

Because of him, she was able to leave her ex-abusive behind and start over with her life. While Jeter felt that Carey was out of his league, the two made a go of it.