Nick Cannon is reflecting on how his past shaped his path to fatherhood, revealing that his decision to have 12 children stemmed from unresolved trauma and a lack of healing following his divorce from Mariah Carey.

In a recent interview on The Breakfast Club, the 44-year-old actor and TV host spoke candidly about how his choices were less about intentionally building a large family and more about living freely without considering the long-term impact.

“It wasn’t like I was acting out,” Cannon explained. “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. Instead of doing the mature thing and slowing down, I just kept going — and then life happens.”

Cannon clarified that he never set out to have 12 children. Instead, he was focused on enjoying life at the time. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go have 12 kids.’ It was more about like, yo, I’m going to just live life and have fun and whatever happens happens. I can handle it.”

Now, as he approaches 45, Cannon admits he might have approached fatherhood differently if he had taken time to heal after his divorce. “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 said.

Despite his complicated family dynamic, Cannon emphasized that his children were all conceived in love. “Every child that I had was made out of love and there were strong relationships,” he said, while acknowledging that more reflection might have led to a slower, more deliberate approach.

The Masked Singer host also touched on his views regarding monogamy, sharing that his perspective hasn’t shifted over the years. “Monogamy has never really been my thing,” Cannon said, citing his unconventional upbringing as a major influence on how he understands love and relationships.

As he continues to navigate life with multiple families, Cannon said therapy has been essential for his personal growth. “Shouts out to all my therapists,” he shared, adding that he even participates in family therapy sessions with some of his children and their mothers.

“I have family therapy with some of my kids because they have to understand that this is an unorthodox, non-traditional scenario,” Cannon said. “I want them to be in the healthiest space as possible.”

Source: The Breakfast Club