After years of personal and professional struggles, things are finally going Mariah Carey's way. She's got a highly-anticipated, new album about to hit stores, a buzz-worthy role in the film 'Precious,' and she and husband Nick Cannon have discussed starting a family. Carey is glad for for her second wind, admitting to In Touch, "Honestly, I never thought I'd live this long."

She adds, "I have always been grateful for everything I had, but my personal life was a mess. So many artists just exist for their careers and then burn out quickly. That was me before I met Nick, and he helped me. I always thought that I wouldn't be here at this point. I was thinking, 'Okay, I've got another year of my life left. This has got to be the end of it.' Finally, he was like, "Stop talking like that."