• Mariah Carey was asked about the rumors that she’s dating Anderson .Paak by Gayle King during an interview on CBS Mornings.
  • Mariah and Anderson were recently photographed holding hands and reportedly spent the holidays together last year.
  • Mariah and Anderson’s new song, “Play This Song,” will be released on Friday.

Is it love? Or is it just a really, really, really good working relationship? This is the question of the day for Mariah Carey and Anderson .Paak, who worked together on new music for her forthcoming album, Here for It All. The musicians originally sparked romance rumors back in December 2024, but a recent hand-holding incident reignited the speculation. So, are Mariah Carey and Anderson .Paak dating?

CBS Mornings host Gayle King decided to get to the bottom of this mystery during a new interview with Mariah, asking the singer about recent photos of Mariah and Anderson holding hands out and about. “He just likes to hold my hand. He just grabs my hand. I don’t know what he's doing,” Mariah said, seemingly side-stepping the question. “He’s [in] a hand-holding club. That’s what it is.”

Of course, Gayle wasn’t going to let Mariah off that easily. She pressed the singer about the relationship again, mentioning that Anderson had been spotted spending time with Mariah in Aspen around Christmas last year, which had fans wondering if it was “something serious.” Mariah gave a vague, but telling answer, saying, “They better know it’s something special if it’s Christmas.”

She continued, “He enjoyed it,” adding, “There’s a hot tub there.” Um, okay, diva!

Mariah might be playing coy, but Us Weekly reported in March that the two were, in fact, dating after linking up to collaborate on new music. “Mariah and Anderson are dating,” a source told the magazine at the time. “They met working last summer and he has always been a huge fan and looked up to her.” Per the source, busy schedules make actual dates few and far between, “but it’s been going on a few months.”

Another source added, “He has really been keeping her attention and they are full on dating.” The source continued, noting that the musicians bonded over their kids saying, “They have a lot in common and it’s going really well.”

Mariah’s sixteenth (!!) studio album, Here for It All (which features Mariah and Anderson’s new track, “Play This Song”) will be released on Friday, September 26.