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Mariah Carey is the feature cover story of September's Maxim magazine. In the interview jammed with photos, the singer spoke candidly about what she learned from her nearly four-year marriage to former Sony Music chairman and chief executive Tommy Mottola. Her advice when it comes to marriage? "Stay away from it!" She added, "I would marry again if it were about having kids, but other than that, I can't see myself doing it."
Carey also explained to Maxim about her rumored relationship with rapper Eminem, and her thoughts on why he took a lyrical swipe at her on his hit single "Superman." Eminem says in the song, "What you tryin' to be my wife?/ What you, Mariah?"
"Yeah, it happened. Did I have a sexual relationship with him? No, I didn't," Carey said. "I knew him, I hung out with him a few times, but nothing sexual occurred. I'd admit it if it did, but it didn't. And that's why I was so upset about the whole thing, because I was like, 'Look, if I had an intimate relationship with the person that would be one thing, but...maybe he thought because nothing happened he'd look bad or something.'"
Carey also spoke to Maxim about her sexy image. "I know I have this image that's sexy, but I'm basically like Mary Poppins," said Carey. "That's my nickname! I'm prudish. It's like playing dress up. When you go through difficult stuff as a kid sometimes your childhood stays with you. I've hung onto that. There was a period when I was in a relationship that was confining, where I had to wear turtlenecks and long pants and that wasn't me."
Carey noted, "I broke out of that--around the same time of the 'Honey' video, where I jump out of the water like a secret agent--everybody was shocked. But that was the real me coming out."