Why Nick Cannon Says Ex Mariah Carey Will Always Be His Baby
Nick Cannon had a different vision of love than Mariah Carey.
The Wild ‘n Out host recently looked back on his eight-year marriage with the “We Belong Together” singer and reflected on the “internalized insecurities” he faced. Namely questioning who he was outside of the relationship.
“I got married in my 20s to the biggest star in the world,” Nick said on the Oct. 24 episode of the Ray Daniels Presents podcast. “I would lay up at night thinking, ‘Is this who I am? Am I Mariah’s man? Is that what my life’s supposed to be?’”
The 44-year-old continued, “There’s nothing wrong with it. And I got really comfortable in it. She got islands, I’m waking up at noon and I’m being served steaks on a platter.”
Nick, who wed Mariah in 2008, admitted that he lost his “hustler” spirit and things really were put into perspective with the couple welcomed their now 13-year-old twins Monroe Cannon and Moroccan Cannon.
“Then when you have children and the hierarchy of man s--t is like ‘Wait, I’m carrying the purse, the diaper bag and I’m standing on the corner waiting,’” he explained. “She’s rocking being all the alpha that she is.”
Nick further expressed how he believed that Mariah lived in her own world and deserved someone who would be the support, but he also saw himself as a main character.
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“She deserved it,” he said about the type of partner an independent woman like Mariah should have. “And the love kept me there because I was like, ‘You need somebody. You need a support system. You need somebody that don’t want you for your money. You need somebody that’s sincere. You need somebody that’s ready to build a family, raise some amazing kids together. And that was my goal. But then there was something constantly in me like...”
And ultimately, the insecurities bled into his professional life as Nick began to question whether his role as a chairman at Nickelodeon and at Island Def Jam were because of his wife’s connections.
“I was wearing suits everyday cause I’m trying to prove that I’m a man,” the All That alum quipped. “The inner adolescent in me, I’m trying to prove that I’m a man because I’m standing next to a woman.”
In the end, Nick—who has been public with his decades-long battle with Lupus—says that his health battle put things into perspective when he realized, “I have so much to do.”
As a result, he joked, “That’s probably why I have 12 kids now.”
Since his 2016 split from Mariah, The Masked Singer host has welcomed children Golden, 7, Rise, 2 and Powerful, 3, whom he shares with Brittaney Bell. Twins Zion Mixolydian, Zillion Heir, 3, and Beautiful Zeppelin, 23-months, with Abby De La Rosa. He is also dad to Legendary, 2, with Selling Sunset’s Bre Tiesi. Daughter Onyx Cole, 2, whom he shares with LaNisha Cole as well as Halo Marie, 23-months, and late son Zen with Alyssa Scott.
Even though his relationship with Mariah ended, Nick has previously suggested she’s the one that got away.
“We belong together,” Nick joked to E! News in August when asked if he would get back with his ex-wife. “Yes, absolutely. Be stupid if I wouldn’t.”
“She don’t want me.”
Keep reading for more of Nick’s family…
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