Why Nick Cannon Says Having 12 Kids Was a Response to Trauma: “Whatever Happens Happens”

Nick Cannon is opening up about his unconventional journey to becoming a dad of 12.

The rapper and The Masked Singer host recently admitted on the radio show, The Breakfast Club, that the way he chose to have children with six women was a response to his personal trauma.

“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,” Cannon explained. “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.’”

However, now at 44 years old, the Wild ‘N Out creator reflects on his past decisions differently.

“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,” he added.

But even if Cannon had worked on himself internally at a younger age, he told co-host Charlemagne tha God he doesn’t know if it would have stopped him from having 12 children, because “every child that I had was made out of love and there were strong relationships.”

“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,’” he continued. “Now, you’re leaving trauma every step of the way instead of fixing it from its origin.”

Cannon shares twins with ex-wife Mariah Carey, two sons and a daughter with Brittany Bell, twins and a daughter with Abby De La Rosa, a son with Bre Tiesi, a daughter with LaNisha Cole and a daughter with Alyssa Scott. He and Scott also had a son who died at five months old in 2021 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

The comedian has previously defended his involvement in his children’s lives, despite having a larger family, telling Men’s Health in 2022 that he’s just “trying to be the best father and best provider I could possibly be.” He also noted that his flexible schedule and higher income help.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m probably engaged throughout my children’s day, more often than the average adult can be,” Cannon said at the time. “If I’m not physically in the same city with my kids, I’m talking to them before they go to school via FaceTime and stuff.”

“And then when I am [in the same city, I’m] driving my kids to school, like making sure I pick ’em up,” he added. “All of those things, making sure [I’m there for] all extracurricular activities. I’m involved in everything from coaching to having guitar lessons with my daughter every week.”