Nick Cannon Shares How Trauma Fueled His Choice To Have 12 Kids

After fathering 12 children, Nick Cannon is having quite the epiphany on his choices.

While discussing his failed marriage with pop icon Mariah Carey, Cannon — who was a guest on “The Breakfast Club” on Monday — said he’s in a “learning” period and explained how his past “trauma” played a role in having as many kids as he does.

“I know it all started from a place of pain, and not really healing properly,” Cannon revealed. “Because I had access to everything, so I just allowed that to cloud my decision making.”

“So you think having all those kids was a response to your trauma?” host Charlamagne Tha God asked the actor.

Cannon responded: “Yeah… I’m learning that now.”

“It wasn’t like I was acting out, It was more of being careless, being frivolous of my process because I could do it,” he continued.

He went on to say his “access” as a celebrity figure played a significant role in his journey as a father of many. Cannon acknowledged that in hindsight, he lacked maturity. He said he never intended to have a dozen children, but adopted a carefree approach that led him to his current outcome.

“Being almost 45 now, I can sit back… 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.

When asked if he would still have 12 children, Cannon emphasized the love he has for them — but returned to the idea of doing “the work” to heal from his past divorce from Carey.

“Every child that I have was made out of love,” he said.

He added that he has “family therapy” with his kids because they’re part of an “unorthodox” scenario.