Mariah Carey Opens Up On Past Personal Abuse

Updated 5:15 PM PDT, Wed, Nov 4, 2009

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While Rihanna is set to break her silence in her first TV interview since the assault at the hands of Chris Brown, her fellow pop star Mariah Carey sat down with Larry King to reveal her own abuse she has suffered in a past relationship.

"You know Rihanna. What did you make of that story," Larry asked her, in an interview airing on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Wednesday night.

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"You know, I was very sequestered, as you know, when I first started out and if I were just allowed to be young and with a young boyfriend who's also a star and you know, you're working and you're both… I don't know what goes on," Mariah said. "You know what I mean? I wasn't really allowed out of the house, so I can't imagine what she went through."

When asked if anyone had ever abused her, Mariah said abuse comes in many different forms.

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"Abuse has several categories… emotionally, mentally, in other ways," she explained.

"Why is hard to get out of it?" Larry asked Mariah, who stars in the upcoming film "Precious," about a 16-year-old girl who is sexually and emotionally abused by her parents.

"It's scary. I just think you get into a situation and you feel locked in – if your situation is similar to one of the situations I've been in, which I won't harp on," Mariah continued.

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"For me, to really get out of it was difficult because there was a connection that was not only a marriage, but a business where the person was in control of my life."

Mariah – who was previously married to Sony music mogul Tommy Mottola from 1993 – 1998 – said she is very comfortable and happy in her new marriage with Nick Cannon.

And while there are no immediate plans for a baby, the singer admitted the thought of motherhood definitely makes her smile.

"[It] would be the happiest thing in my life, but what I'm saying is right now with ['Precious'] coming out, with the next few singles from the album and those things that I'm doing, I need to focus on that because I cannot do the 'having a child' thing halfway," she admitted. "I wouldn't be just like, 'Oh, I'm having a child, yay! Let me get a nanny so I can give her the baby. Take the kid.' That doesn't work for me. I don't believe in that."

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