Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's marriage isn't the only thing in trouble.
The New York Daily News claimed that former live-in nanny Simonette DaCosta has filed a lawsuit against the estranged couple, claiming that they forced her to work a 100-hour week without being paid overtime.
In the lawsuit filed in a New York district court Wednesday, DaCosta claimed she "attended to the [children's] needs not only at home, but also during Ms. Carey's travels for her global concerts and appearances." DaCosta described working everyday and not being able to take breaks to sleep or eat.
The former nanny worked for Carey and Cannon from October 2013 until January 21014 and was responsible for looking after the couple's twins Moroccan and Monroe, who are now 3 years old. Her duties included "feeding, bathing and comforting Ms. Carey's and Mr. Cannon's children who were infants and/or toddlers at the time."
Da Costa earned between $6,000 and $7,200 a month but was not paid for her overtime services.
"Plaintiff was on duty during all hours of each 24-hour day with no entitlement for breaks, for meals, and even for sleep," the suit stated, according to the Daily News. "Indeed, Ms. Carey would often call plaintiff at hours in the middle of the night and demand to be taken to her children or to be updated on the status of her children."
The suit continued, "Ms. Carey would not tolerate any delay when she called and plaintiff had to attend to her every demand, spontaneous or otherwise." Adding, "[Her] job did not involve exercising discretion over matters of significance."
DaCosta also claimed that the "Hero" singer berated her for exhibiting too much affection toward her children. The plaintiff's lawyer, Eli Freedberg, told the Daily News that Carey was "jealous" of his client's relationship with her children.
"She was caring for the children too well," Freedberg said. "[Carey] was worried they were getting confused who the mommy was. [She] cycled through these nannies pretty quickly. My understanding is that Ms. Carey didn't want the children developing any lasting relationship with the women."
Last February, during an interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.6, Carey admitted to firing nannies that interrupt her relationship with her children.
"Unfortunately, I have to have nannies but I'm very hands-on... I fire nannies like this," she said, snapping her fingers. "I hate doing it, but I have to . . . if they try to make themselves more important in the baby's mind than me."
In an interview with Howard Stern, Cannon confirmed his wife's inability to keep a nanny, saying, "It's something about a woman and her children...you know, the minute the child chooses to go to the nanny before they go to the mom -- I would have an issue with that, too."
He added, "Everything's on a trial basis. It's just like, hey, we're gonna see how this works out. And we're always traveling, so the nanny might not get a plane ticket to the next city."
Da Costa is seeking "unpaid overtime wages, premium wages, liquidated damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and pre-judgment interest." A representative for Carey told the Daily News, "We don't comment on frivolous lawsuits."
