Mariah Carey drew on her hell with ex-hubby for Precious role

London (ANI): Mariah Carey says she used the experience of her emotionally abusive relationship with ex-hubby Tommy Mottola to play the critically acclaimed role of a social worker in Precious.

"It was an abusive relationship emotionally and in several different ways," the News of the World quoted Carey, as saying. She continued: "At first, music was my escape. But as time went on, different friends and different people would help me to see I could get out of that relationship. "That's in the past, but it helped me get to a place where I could grow and use all that stuff. I look forward to acting more to be able to use all of those things."

The 39-year-old singer-turned actress was just 23 when she married 43-year-old Mottola in 1993. They divorced in 1998 and Carey is now happily married to actor Nick Cannon. Carey also disclosed that she drew a lot from her upbringing for her onscreen portrayal of Mrs Weiss in Precious. Her white mother Patricia was disowned by her family for marrying a black man. The marriage ended when Mariah was three, and her mum had to work late shifts at nightclubs to make a living.

A few years later Mariah''s older sister Alison fell pregnant at 15 and moved out of home. She later became addicted to drugs and turned to prostitution to support her habit. When her second child was born, Alison was infected with HIV and has been living with Aids for nearly 15 years. She said: "Most people think that I was born in this magical bubble and here I am singing high notes - it wasn't like that…. So yeah. I do know people who have been through some deep s***. Precious has been ignored her whole life for the abuse she went through. All of us have had a little bit of a slice of what that tastes like. I come from a unique background. In my father's family there were a lot of troubled uncles and aunts and people who were literally in very intense situations that I couldn''t even go into now."

She added: "But yeah, I''ve met people who have gone through similar things. "And I myself have been through things that I could draw on in terms of being able to sympathise with her character."