Nick Cannon is opening up about parenting and manifesting his 12 children.
Speaking with US Weekly in an interview published Wednesday, Sept. 23, the "Wild ‘n Out" creator got candid about family life, including how he navigates co-parenting his 12 children — something he believes was "definitely part of my destiny."
"People have been digging in the archives to hear my interviews from, like, 20 years ago, and I did," Cannon said, adding that he spoke his desire to have 12 kids "into existence." Cannon also believes coming from a "big, nontraditional, unorthodox family" played a role.
He continued: "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."
Cannon shares 15-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with his ex-wife Mariah Carey and has two sons, Golden Sagon and Rise Messiah, as well as a 5-year-old daughter with Brittany Bell; twins Zion and Zillion and daughter Beautiful with Abby De La Rosa; son Legendary with Bre Tiesi; and daughter Onyx with LaNisha Cole.
Cannon is also a father to daughter, Halo, and son, Zen, who died at five months old in December 2021 following a brain cancer diagnosis, whom he shares with Alyssa Scott.
Between taping new episodes of "Wild ‘n Out" and co-parenting with the "mother of my children," which Cannon refers to as "M.O.M.C.," the comedian is gearing up for the release of his Netflix docuseries, which will offer an unprecedented look inside his big and "challenging" life.
While Cannon admits he's nervous about the documentary to come out, he's also "so excited" to be able to explain his dynamic with the mother of his children "in a way that isn’t a sound bite." Cannon has previously characterized his relationships with the women as "consensual non-monogamy."
"I was married for seven-plus years, and my wife was the only person I was monogamous with because I didn’t want to [expletive] it up. I was like, 'This is Mariah Carey. I'm not messing this up,'" Cannon said. "But I have an abundance of love, and I want to be the best provider and partner. I have the means to — not even speaking financially — be a helpmate to people, and I think that’s the root of it."
Nick Cannon on more kids: 'Right now, 12 is good'
When asked if there was "room for more," Cannon said: "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," Cannon said. "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."
Cannon added that he takes his responsibility as a parent "very seriously," and said he tries his best to prioritize quality time with all of his children.
"I don’t care if you have one kid or 100 kids, they’re always gonna desire more time, and you’re always going to want to give more time. I feel that guilt daily. I always want to say yes, but things get in the way," Cannon said. "My kids know I love them unconditionally, and they know that dad’s not perfect by any means, but he’s trying his best."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Cannon says having 12 kids was 'part of my destiny'
