Mariah Carey is getting serious about her toyboy.

Mariah Carey (c) Instagram

Mariah Carey (c) Instagram

The 46-year-old singer spent Christmas with backing dancer Bryan Tanaka, who she started dating after splitting from billionaire businessman James Packer in October, and friends say she is head over heels for him.

A source told Entertainment Tonight: "She's into him now. He gets along really well with her twins, Moroccan and Monroe.

"She bought him lavish designer Christmas gifts from the Aspen boutiques.

"They walk around holding each other's hands and are always very affectionate. [They're] always smooching."

Mariah, Bryan and her twins, whose father is Mariah's ex-husband Nick Cannon, are staying in a beautiful house in Aspen, courtesy of AirBnB and there is plenty of space for each of them to relax in as the property has no less than five bedrooms, five bathrooms, two living rooms as well as a games room, a cinema room, a gym and a sauna.

Meanwhile, Mariah's ex-husband Nick Cannon, who is the father of her five-year-old twins is spending the festive season under the care of medical staff as he is currently being treated for complications relating to autoimmune disease Lupus.

He posted a picture of himself hooked up to a monitor in Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Hospital and wrote: "For all who have been trying to contact me the last few days this is where I've been. And I will be in the Hospital through Christmas.

"All good though, Doctors say I will be back to normal before the New Year. #LupusSucks #ncredible #warrior.(sic)"

The 36-year-old star - who was diagnosed with the disease in 2012 - was hospitalised over the summer for exhaustion and vowed at the time to take better care of himself.

He wrote at the time: "Don't worry, Temporary pit stop... Sometimes I can be a little too bull headed and stubborn. I gotta stop running my body to the ground."

Earlier this year, Nick insisted he was healthier than he's ever been because he has done so much research into Lupus.

He said: "I'm healthier now than I've ever been before, because of the research, because of the education that I've received on the proper things to eat and the proper things to put into my body - what can cause flare ups and what can't, and preventative measures and all of these things. And when you can share that information and share knowledge and research, I think that helps more than anything.

"You learn that this is something that you can live with and actually overcome with the proper research and with the proper support system."