Nick Cannon opens up on ‘whirlwind’ of fathering 11 kids

Nick Cannon is once again opening up about the emotional weight of fatherhood at scale, telling Us Weekly that the guilt of not being able to give each of his 11 living children enough time remains a constant presence in his life. 

“I don’t care if you have one kid or 100 kids. They’re always gonna desire more time,” Cannon, 45, said. 

“You’re always gonna want to give more time. I feel that guilt daily. I always want to say yes, but obviously, work and other things always get in the way.”

Speaking while promoting his upcoming Wild ‘N Out tour, which celebrates more than 25 years of the show and kicks off November 10 at Oakland Arena, featuring original cast members DC Young Fly and Justina Valentine, Cannon offered a glimpse into how tightly packed even a single evening can get. 

He described attending simultaneous parent-teacher conferences for two of his children while fitting in guitar lessons for a 4-year-old the same evening, describing his days as a “whirlwind.”

Cannon first became a father in 2011, when he and ex-wife Mariah Carey welcomed twins Moroccan and Monroe. 

He has since had 10 more children with Brittany Bell, Abby De La Rosa, Bre Tiesi, LaNisha Cole and Alyssa Scott. 

He’s described the guilt over not being present enough as something that has followed him for years, echoing sentiments he first shared publicly in a 2022 appearance on The Checkup With Dr. David Agus, in which he called time away from his children his “biggest guilt.” 

In a more recent therapy-adjacent interview, he also reflected candidly on how unaddressed personal trauma shaped some of his family decisions, saying, “I looked up, you know, 12 kids later, and I’m like, wow, I could have did things very differently.”