Mariah Carey is a pop diva used to getting exactly what she wants, so it's probably best to treat her with respect.

And that even applies to the boyfriend who has just presented her with a £1.25million engagement ring.

Miss Carey beamed with delight as she showed off the ring at the weekend. But that was before she learned that it may not have been the first time the ring had been on public display.

Scroll down for more...

Bling: Mariah flashed a giant diamond ring on her engagement finger at the TriBeCa Film Festival last week

For the ring given to the 39-year-old singer by rapper/actor Nick Cannon, 27, looked astonishingly similar to the one he used the last time he got engaged - exactly a year ago.

On that occasion Cannon proposed to 24-year-old model Selita Ebanks as a giant video screen in Times Square, New York, displayed the words: 'Selita, will you marry me?'

They called off the engagement in October and Miss Ebanks handed back the 15-carat ring, which has a ten-carat stone surrounded by pink and purple diamonds.

The ring had been designed by Cannon himself and hand-crafted by Jacob the celebrity jeweller.

Scroll down for more...

Something looks familiar: Nick Cannon with his ex-fiancee Selita Ebanks - and that ring - last year

So perhaps proposing to Miss Carey with an identical-looking ring was not the brightest move to make.

Initially, Cannon appeared to get away with it - Miss Carey was seen proudly wearing the ring at the afterparty for her new drama Tennessee in New York last Saturday.

A couple of days later, however, a friend of Miss Ebanks claimed it was the very same ring.

Such a revelation would seem to suggest one of two things - either it was the same one Cannon used for his last engagement, or he had decided to commission another identical one to be made for Miss Carey.

Scroll down for more...

Vision of love: sources have confirmed Nick Cannon and Mariah are engaged, according to US reports

Sources close to the singer say she feels she has been made to look a fool and that the engagement is most likely to be off.

"Mariah was very upset when it was claimed the ring was secondhand and had been used on his previous fiancée," one said.

"She's so embarrassed and the engagement could well be over before it's started. She certainly won't be wearing it in public again."

Mariah was previously married to record executive Tommy Mottola for five years. The pair had a bitter split in 1998.

She has also dated singer Luis Miguel and baseball hunk Derek Jeter.