Ah, nothing spells out holiday cheer quite like addressing your highly publicized breakup from a prominent billionaire — just ask Mariah Carey and Ellen Degeneres!

In a preview of the next Ellen episode, and amid Christmas set decorations that could rival The Nutcracker's, Degeneres asks Carey how she's doing in light of rumors that she and James Packer broke up in October.

TMZ first reported Carey's apparent split from Packer, and said friction began when Packer grew tired of filming forthcoming docu-series Mariah's WorldFurther, some sort of interaction between Carey and a backup dancer who works on Carey's Las Vegas revue got Packer furious, and was allegedly the last straw.

"Now it's a whole friggin' thing," Carey says in the clip above. "Everything happens for a reason — things are the way they are...It's kind of difficult to talk about at this moment, so I'm just gonna compliment you on these decorations once again, because they are fabulous."

Still, a little bit of sullenness won't ruin Mimi's good mood — she insists she'll festivate wherever and whenever she can.

"I try to festivate whenever I can," she confirms.

And if you're a true fan of Mariah's second identity, Christmas Queen, be sure to watch out for her on VH1's forthcoming VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Nightwhich will film on December 2.

"The DIVAS special offers a wonderful opportunity to perform for my fans over the holidays, which is my favorite and most festive time of year," she said in a statement.

Festive.

Check Out Photos From Mariah Carey's Glitzy Las Vegas Residency:

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