Nick Cannon is opening up about his unique journey into fatherhood, discussing how he became a dad to 12 children. During his recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, the 44-year-old host of The Masked Singer talked about how his past experiences and challenges influenced his parenting choices.
“It wasn’t like I was acting out. It was more of being careless, being frivolous with my process because I could do it, because I had the money [and] because I had the access to whoever and however I wanted to move,” he said, according to People. “Then, obviously, life happens as well, so it wasn’t like ‘Oh, I’m gonna go have 12 kids.’ It was more about like, ‘Yo, I’m gonna just live life and have fun and whatever happens happens. I can handle it.'”
READ ALSO: Nick Cannon shares how he welcomed five children in a year
Now that he’s approaching 45, Cannon reflected on his decisions, saying, “I could sit back and like, yeah, if I would have thought the process through a little bit more and took time to actually do the inner work. Things might have been a little different in certain scenarios.”
The “Wild N Out” performer continued, “If I would have did the work [and] the healing after getting divorced, I probably would have took my time in a lot other scenarios and for whatever reason I thought that was the answer a lot of times, like ‘Oh, I’m gonna figure it out over here,’.” “Now, you’re leaving trauma every step of the way instead of fixing it from its origin.”
Cannon has twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey, sons Golden Sagon and Rise Messiah Cannon and daughter Powerful Queen with Brittany Bell, twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir and daughter Beautiful Zeppelin with Abby De La Rosa, son Legendary Love with Bre Tiesi, and daughter Onyx Ice Cole with LaNisha Cole. Cannon also has two children with Alyssa Scott: Zen, who died at five months old in December 2021 after being diagnosed with brain cancer, and Halo Marie Cannon.
Regarding future children, Cannon told People in March that he is “pressing hold” on expanding his family.
While he’s open to the idea, he emphasized, “I really don’t know. I’m being honest. I’m having so much fun in this space right now, and the way my bank account is set up, I’m going to press hold on this 12 for right now. But I was just speaking of three years from now [or] five years from now, who knows? I’m not against it.”
READ ALSO: Mother of Nick Cannon’s daughter speaks out after he talked about $10M testicle insurance
“There was a point in time where I was just like, ‘Nah, I’m done.’ And, then I was like, ‘Who am I to say that?’ ” he continued. “It seemed like it was such an emphatic thing. I never imagined that I would have 12 kids. So, it’s one of those things where I love children. I love my life, and if it could keep going in the direction that it’s going, why not?”
In July, Cannon discussed his new late-night program with Extra’s Mona Kosar Abdi, opening up about his personal life and past dating habits. The comedian, who has five daughters, revealed that having them has altered his perspective on dating and that he wishes to encourage them to “learn from my mistakes and not date people like their dad.”
He explained, “When you have five daughters and you’re like, ‘All right, I at least want to be able to be true and honest,’ but like I can’t live the same life that I’ve always been living and attempt to right my wrongs in that sense of where like hopefully my daughters learn from my mistakes and not date people like their dad.”
READ ALSO: Nick Cannon Called Out For Not Seeing His Daughter in Two Months
