Nick Cannon says it was his 'destiny' to become a father of 12 and reveals if he wants more as women are 'soliciting'

Nick Cannon is a father of 12, and though it may be shocking to many, the star has maintained that it was always meant to be this way.

The 45-year-old television personality got candid about being the dad to a dozen children as he shockingly revealed that it was his 'destiny' in an interview published by Us Weekly on Wednesday.

He said: 'People have been digging in the archives to hear my interviews from, like, 20 years ago, and I did. I was like, "Yo, I want 12 kids." I spoke it into existence. 

'I come from a big, nontraditional, unorthodox family. My parents were teenagers when they had me, so my grandparents had a lot of influence on me. My grandmother was a foster mother, so I had hundreds of foster brothers and sisters growing up and learned how to take care of babies. 

'It was always in me. I’m also a big kid at heart. It’s definitely part of my destiny.'

Cannon has not welcomed a child since Halo Marie Cannon who was born on December 14, 2022 and was asked if he was planning to have any more.

The Masked Singer host said with a laugh: 'Usually when women ask me that, they’re soliciting. Right now, 12 is good. I’m in the car line every day, and there’s basketball, karate, jujitsu, tap, piano, guitar. 

'We come from a different generation; we were latchkey kids, and we had to take care of ourselves. I don’t remember my dad or mom being at my recitals. My mom was working three jobs and my dad lived across the country. So I take that stuff very seriously.'

Cannon first became a father in 2011 when his then-wife pop megastar Mariah Carey gave birth to twins Moroccan and Monroe, now 15.

He went on to welcome three children with Brittany Bell: sons Golden Sagon, nine, and Rise Messiah, four, and daughter Powerful Queen, five. 

Cannon and Abby De La Rosa also have three children together, the twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, five, as well as their daughter Beautiful Zeppelin, three. 

He and the Selling Sunset star Bre Tiesi have a son, Legendary Love, four, and he shares his daughter Onyx Ice, four, with LaNisha Cole. 

Additionally, Cannon also welcomed two children with Alyssa Scott: the aforementioned daughter Halo Marie, three, and a son named Zen, who died at just five months old in December 2021 from brain cancer.

 He talked about how he manages his relationships with the six mothers of his children as he said they operate as a unit but it is compartmentalized as he was asked if there was jealousy among the moms.

Cannon replied: 'I wouldn’t say jealousy. Everybody advocates for themselves in their household and for their children.  One of the toughest challenges is you want to give everybody your all, but as the famous quote goes, "You can’t please all the people all the time." I’m learning that balance. 

'I have 12 kids — everybody’s not going to be happy with me and I’m pretty sure we’ll hear everything they have to say when they become adults. But at this point, I’m doing the best I can, and everybody has an individual connection with Dad.'

Cannon said that his babymama Tiesi 'holds a special place in my heart' as he was asked if he would get married again a decade after his divorce from Carey was finalized.

He responded: 'I don’t like the government in my love life. I think the institution of marriage should be respected, but I can’t see myself going through the legal paperwork again.'

The former Nickelodeon star also addressed his relationship with Carey which has been at the center of rumors that they do not get along for years. 

Cannon said: 'We talk almost every day or every other day, specifically just about the kids. We were laughing about [reports we’re not close]. 

'I was like, "Who is telling people that?" On the flip side, I’ve heard we’re getting back together. I’ll deliver the truth with the doc. I’m always open [to that]. Our divorce wasn’t messy. We were able to move on and be the best parents we can.'

In September 2025, Cannon shockingly blamed Carey by opening up about how their divorce shaped the path that ultimately led him to fathering 12 children.

The television star revealed that becoming a dad to so many kids stemmed from unresolved pain and a lack of self-reflection following the end of his marriage.

'I just didn't do the work. So then I looked up, 12 kids later, and I'm like, "Wow, I could have did things differently,"' Cannon said in a candid interview. 'But I stand firm on all my decisions because I love all my kids. I love my family infrastructure.'

While appearing on an episode of The Breakfast Club which aired in September 2025, he explained that his choices 'started from a place of pain' after his 2016 split from Carey, and that he now sees the pattern as part of not healing properly.

When asked directly if his parenting decisions were tied to trauma, Cannon replied: 'Yeah, I'm learning that now. 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.'

Looking back, Cannon admitted he wasn't 'mature' enough to plan more intentionally at the time. 

'Obviously, life happens as well, so it wasn't like, "Oh, I'm going to go have 12 kids,"' he said. 'It was more about like, "Yo, I'm gonna just live life and have fun and whatever happens, happens. I can handle it."'

Now in therapy, the actor says he's taken time to reflect and work on himself.

'Being almost 45 now, 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.'

Still, he stressed he doesn't regret fatherhood: 'I've always said this, every child that I had was made out of love and they were strong relationships.'

Cannon pointed to the end of his six-year marriage as a turning point.

'I probably would have took my time in a lot of 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,"' he admitted. 'Now, you're leaving trauma every step of the way instead of fixing it from its origin.'

The former Nickelodeon star also noted that his upbringing influenced his view on relationships, saying monogamy was never his natural path.

'I've always understood that love happens differently, so monogamy has never really been my thing. So, I'm pretty sure that plays a part of it as well, too.