Nick Cannon explains why having 12 children was a response to trauma

Nick Cannon has opened up about his unconventional family life, revealing that becoming a dad to 12 kids wasn’t part of some grand plan, but rather a reaction to personal trauma.

The TV host and comedian, now 44, spoke on The Breakfast Club about how his journey into fatherhood wasn’t as calculated as many might think, which was later reported on by People. Instead, Cannon admitted that his choices came from a place of carelessness, and an attempt to fill deeper gaps in his life.

Cannon explained: “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”.

“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.'”

The Wild N’ Out creator acknowledged that looking back, things might have played out differently if he’d taken more time for personal reflection.

He added: “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.”

When asked by host Charlamagne tha God whether doing that inner work might have prevented him from fathering so many children, Cannon admitted he wasn’t sure, saying: “I don't know ... because I've always said this, every child that I had was made out of love and there were strong relationships.”

He went on to share that his divorce was a pivotal moment, and that instead of facing his pain head-on, he tried to find answers in new relationships.

Cannon elaborated: “If I would have [done] 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 is father to twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey, three children with Brittany Bell, three with Abby De La Rosa, one with Bre Tiesi, one with LaNisha Cole, and two with Alyssa Scott, including son Zen, who sadly passed away at five months old after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

Despite the headlines around his growing family, Cannon says he’s pressing pause for now. Speaking earlier this year, he admitted to People: “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.”

Reflecting on fatherhood, he also revealed that being a dad to five daughters has shifted how he approaches relationships. He continued: “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.”

Whichever way you look at it, having a dozen offspring has definitely changed the star.