Derek Sanderson Jeter (born June 26, 1974) is an American ex-pro baseball player. He was Mariah's boyfriend from 1997-1998.
Relationship with Mariah[]
Jeter dated Mariah between 1997-1998. In an interview with Oprah, Mariah stated that Jeter was the "catalyst" who convinced her she could no longer stay married to the Tommy Mottola. The pair's relationship went on to inspire the lyrics behind two of Carey's hits, "The Roof" and "My All."[1]
Mariah has went on to state that Derek made her "believed that there was somebody else." "It was the racial situation, his mom is Irish, his dad is Black. But he was also very ambiguous looking to me. I didn't know who he was, we met and I've written songs about it."
Mariah has also added that Jeter's interracial family had an impact on her, proving that not all those who are biracial stem from dysfunctional families. Carey's parents divorced when she was young, and she revealed that she'd been teased and taunted by her own family and friends throughout her life for being biracial—her father was Black and Afro-Venezuelan, and her mother Irish.
"And they changed my viewpoint that 'Oh, it's because of the biracial situation that my family is so screwed up,' as opposed to 'it's them.' And yes, those things did play a huge part in their dysfunction," said Carey. "But it was healthy for me to see a functional family that basically kind of looked like mine, but didn't feel like mine.
"And he was also living his dream job and doing his dream job," she said. "I believe we connected in that way."[1]
Trivia[]
- Derek's English-American, German-American & Irish-American on Dorothy's side and African-American on Sanderson's side.