TRB/FAMEFLYNET PICTURESLooks like these romance rumors may be put to rest just as quickly as they first surfaced.
On Monday, speculation ran rampant with reports claiming that longtime friends Mariah Carey and Brett Ratner are dating after the two were photographed walking arm-in-arm (with another female friend) while shopping in St. Barts. Additionally, the pair recently celebrated their birthdays together, which only added further fuel to the romance fire.
So, is Nick Cannon's soon-to-be ex-wife moving on with the 46-year-old filmmaker?! Not so fast...
"Brett thinks it's silly," an insider tells E! News, adding that the Hercules producer is actually seeing someone. "The woman he's dating was with them the whole time and is in half the pictures."
The insider adds of Ratner's current romance: "It's not new. They've been casually dating for almost a year. She's very friendly with Mariah."
Carey and Ratner have worked together numerous times over the course of nearly two decades. The Tower Heist director first teamed up with the 45-year-old singing sensation in 1998 when he directed her "I Still Believe" music video. They also collaborated on 1999's "Heartbreaker," 2000's "Thank God I Found You," 2005's "It's Like That," "2005's "We Belong Together," 2008's "Touch My Body" as well as 2009's "Obsessed" and 2009's "H.A.T.E.U."
After years of working side-by-side, the two are incredibly close, but as a source close to Mariah insists to E! News, their relationship will never evolve beyond friendship.
"Mariah would never think of Brett in that way," the source says. "They're like brother and sister."
While the record producer may be living the single life and gearing up for her residency at Caesars Palace, her ex Nick Cannon is dating model Jessica White. The two are keeping a low profile since Cannon's divorce is not finalized, although a source told E! News last week that the couple is "going really strong."
"Jessica is completely smitten over Nick between his personality and good looks," the source told E! News. "She has been telling her close friends he makes her feel like she is on cloud nine and so loved. Nick is very affectionate with her when they are with each other."
Carey called it quits with her husband in August 2014 after six years of marriage. Four months later, the America's Got Talent host filed for divorce; the exes are parents to 3-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe.
—Reporting by Beth Sobol