Nick Cannon is making headlines for his supportive comment on U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the Democratic Party “the party of the KKK (Ku Klux Klan)” during his conversation with model Amber Rose at his web talk show, Big Drive. His remark has sparked a storm of debate online, with the internet staying divided in its opinions. Simultaneously, the attention has shifted to the comedian-actor’s highly talked-about personal life, especially the years following his divorce from Mariah Carey.
The Wild ‘N Out star’s continuously expanding family has long been a topic of fascination. In case you didn’t know, Nick Cannon shares only two children, twins Monroe and Moroccan, with Mariah Carey, and after they split in 2014, the actor welcomed ten more with different women between 2017 and 2022. In retrospect, the actor acknowledged that a deep-rooted trauma had a role in it.
In a candid interview, Cannon admitted that the emotional aftermath of his split from Carey, combined with the pressures of fame, shaped many of his life choices during that period, especially fathering his children.
Nick Cannon says having 10 more kids was a trauma response after divorcing Mariah Carey
Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey had known each other since 2005, when they first met, but they began dating in 2008. Just six weeks into their relationship, Cannon, then 28, married the then-39-year-old singer in a private ceremony. In the years that followed, they became a much-loved couple of the entertainment world, even getting tattoos in each other’s honour. In 2011, the couple welcomed fraternal twins, Moroccan and Monroe Cannon. However, after just six years of marital bliss, the two separated in 2014, officially divorcing in 2016.
It was after his split from Mariah Carey that things went awry in his personal life. Cannon often made headlines with his relationships and fatherhood. The TV star has never regretted having so many children, and he emphasizes that all of his relationships were genuine. However, after years of therapy, he has come to realise that having such a large number of children was connected to unresolved trauma.
In a 2025 interview on The Breakfast Club, the actor explained that having 12 children was not something he had consciously planned. It was after he sought therapy that he realised he had often kept himself busy with work and been “careless” in his relationships. He described it as a period of living freely without fully considering long-term consequences. Cannon said:
“I didn’t get a chance to slow down until I got in therapy. But I was just like, ‘Look, I just got to keep making money. I got to stay hot. I got to stay funny.’ And everything else figured itself out. And I just didn’t do the work. So then I looked up with 12 kids later. Wow, I could have done things very differently.”
When asked if the kids were a result of his trauma, the Drumline star said, “Yeah. I’m learning that now.” However, the actor emphasised that though he could have been more careful, he never regretted having a dozen children, especially considering all of his relationships with his baby mommas were genuine and there was love there. He said:
“I stand firm on all of my decisions because I love all my kids. I love my family infrastructure. But I know it all started from a place of pain and not really healing properly… 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, because I had the access to whoever and however I wanted to move.”
Meet Nick Cannon’s 12 children and their mothers
As mentioned before, Cannon’s journey into fatherhood began during his marriage to Mariah Carrie, with whom he shares twins Moroccan and Monroe, born in 2011. Despite their divorce, the former spouses have always kept their children a priority, keeping a strong co-parenting relationship. The twins will turn 15 this April.
After the divorce, Cannon’s family expanded rapidly. He shares three children with former Miss Arizona U.S.A. Brittany Bell. Their eldest, a son named Golden ‘Sagon’ Cannon, was born in 2017, followed by a daughter, Powerful Queen, in 2020, and another son, Rise Messiah Cannon, in 2022. Even though the couple eventually split, they maintain a strong relationship, and Cannon remains actively involved in the children’s lives.
After moving on with model and DJ Abby De Le Rosa, Cannon welcomed another set of twins in 2021. The boys were named Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir Cannon. The next year, a daughter was born, and she was named Beautiful Zeppelin Cannon. Both Cannon and De La Rosa have maintained that they share a polyamorous dynamic and prioritise their children over anything else.
In 2021, just nine days after the birth of Zion and Zillion, Cannon welcomed a son with model Alyssa Scott, and they named him Zen. However, within two months, the newborn was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer, and Zen died that December at just 5 months old. In 2022, the two were blessed with another daughter, Halo Marie Cannon. With Scott, Cannon shares a mixed bond, coming closer through the tragedy of baby Zen’s demise.
2021 and 2022 were the actor’s busiest years in terms of relationships and fatherhood, when he welcomed eight children with different women. In July 2022, Cannon again became a father, welcoming son Legendary Love Cannon, with model Bre Tiesi, after years of an on-and-off relationship. In September of that year, the TV host welcomed another child, a daughter, Onyx Ice Cole Cannon, with LaNisha Cole, a former Price Is Right model.
What is Nick Cannon’s approach towards fatherhood now?
Now in his mid-40s, Cannon says therapy has helped him understand his past choices with more clarity. He has even opened up about being diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. Looking back, he admits that taking time to heal after his divorce could have led him down a very different path. Instead of addressing his trauma directly, he says he tried to “figure it out” in different areas of life, which only led to more complexity.
Despite the circumstances, one truth that has remained unchanged is that he loves all his children, and he insists that his family is something he deeply values.
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