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Well, that was quick. Hot on the heels of her breakup with James Packer, Mariah Carey has moved on with a new man. The 46-year-old diva, whose new “don’t call it a” reality show, Mariah’s World debuted on E! on Sunday night, has been romantically linked with 33-year-old Bryan Tanaka. Bryan was one of the dancers on Mariah’s recent “Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour,” the machinations of which make up one of the storylines of the new series.

Mariah and Bryan have known each other for over a decade, and have been known to grab a bite out to eat on occasion over the years. Oh, and there was that time in May when Mariah performed a risqué lap dance for Bryan during one of her concerts in South Africa. This occurred, mind you, after a jealous James got into an altercation with Bryan at one of Mariah’s gigs. And now, it appears that the two are an item.

The pair chatted with E! on the red carpet at the premiere party for Mariah’s World at Catch NYC on Sunday night. Bryan is definitely head over heels for her, confessing, “I’ve always had a thing for Mariah. I love her so much.” He added, “Something connected with us back in the day and there was just a mutual admiration. She saw something in me that I actually didn’t recognize at first, from that it was over. It was set in history that we were gonna be connected some way, some how.”

Bryan has already popped up in Mariah’s World. In the trailer for the season, Bryan seems to be in close proximity of Mariah a lot, leading her staffers to discuss Bryan’s “crush,” musing, “What are we going to do with him?” The choreographer teased that viewers might be able to see the romance blossoming between the pair on upcoming episodes of the show, telling E!, “Just make sure you tune in to the show and you’ll see kind of how everything happens.”

Mariah was also asked if viewers would see Cupid’s arrow strike, but she was slightly more evasive, saying, “I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.” She did admit that it was good to umm…work…with Bryan again, stating, “It’s really nice, especially when you’ve worked with somebody in the past and then you get to work with them again and just see how everybody’s grown creatively and all that.” Of course, you KNOW this relationship is going to be a part of the show. It seems a little too scripted for my taste. It sure as hell is no Rock of Love (R.I.P.)

On Monday night, the couple were witnessed holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other on stage for the opening night of her “Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas Is You” shows at New York’s Beacon Theatre. The couple also managed to get some quality time in together during Mariah’s shows in Hawaii. An eyewitness told US Magazine that they were doing more than reviewing choreography, noting, “They were all over each other, making out and not wanting to be more than a few feet apart.” Ahh, true, possibly manufactured for a reality show, love.

What’s up with these divas hooking up with their dancers? Mariah is hardly a trendsetter in this category, with Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and even Prince having “gone there” before she did. I guess it’s just like any other workplace romance, and Mariah’s the boss, so if things go south, Bryan will get his pink slip. And, as Celebitchy’s resident “recovering cougar,” I am keeping completely mum about the age difference between these two. Can we all agree that it really doesn’t matter much any more? More importantly, do you think this relationship is for real, or for ratings?

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