Nick Cannon, who shares 12 children with six different women, says he doesn’t agree with the idea of “co-parenting.”
During Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, Nick Cannon @ Night, the 44-year-old TV host responded to a fan’s question about “managing multiple co-parenting relationships” while dating.
“The label co-parenting, I’ve always kind of had an issue,” Cannon explained. “Because why do we have to have the co? We’re just parents. When you start throwing labels on things, I think it does more harm than help and can get very dangerous, because then everybody else has a preconceived notion of what you’re doing.”
Cannon admitted he hasn’t completely figured out how to balance parenting across his six families, but he tries to approach each relationship with the same outlook.
“If I just step into every situation with respect and compassion and individuality, that’s the other thing I always do with anyone I’m involved with in my life,” he said.
He also emphasized that he doesn’t group the mothers of his children together.
“I really try my hardest not to be like, ‘Oh yeah, my baby mamas,’” Cannon continued. “Unless I’m telling a joke or something like that, but no one wants to be grouped into anything. Everyone wants to be treated like an individual with respect and compassion.”
According to Cannon, the six mothers don’t necessarily get along — but he doesn’t expect them to. “Do you know six women anywhere that get along?” he asked, adding that the women have their own lives and parent their children in their own ways.
Cannon first became a father in 2011 when he and then-wife Mariah Carey welcomed twins Moroccan and Monroe. Since then, he’s had 10 more children: sons Golden Sagon and Rise Messiah, and daughter Powerful Queen with Brittany Bell; twins Zion and Zillion, and daughter Beautiful Zeppelin with Abby De La Rosa; son Legendary Love with Bre Tiesi; daughter Halo Marie and his late son Zen with Alyssa Scott; and daughter Onyx Ice with LaNisha Cole.
In 2023, Cannon told Entertainment Tonight that he wasn’t ruling out having more children. When asked if he was finished expanding his family, he responded: “God decides when we’re done, but I believe I definitely got my hands full. And I’m so focused. I’m locked in.” Still, he joked: “But when I’m 85, you never know. I might.”
Earlier this year, Cannon also explained to Entertainment Tonight how he manages time with his children and their mothers. Rather than focusing on strict schedules, he prioritizes “energy management.”
“Once we’re all aligned, the flow is a lot easier,” he said. “If there’s any kind of low frequencies or dissension in there, that’s what messes up the scheduling. As long as we’re all on the same page and we all got the same goal – to be the best parents we could possibly be – that works, and then the scheduling is the scheduling.”
