Nick Cannon Says He Struggled With His Identity During Marriage To Mariah Carey

Nick Cannon has revealed the deep-seated insecurities that plagued him during his marriage to legendary singer Mariah Carey.

The comedian disclosed that he struggled with his masculinity at the time and often questioned his identity as he had to settle with the pressure that came with getting married to someone of Carey’s celebrity status.

Nick Cannon also recently noted he would be happy getting back with Mariah Carey, adding that it would “be stupid if [he] didn’t.”

In Thursday’s appearance on the “Ray Daniels Presents” podcast, Cannon spoke on his split from the “Emotions” songstress and shared how he questioned his identity after they tied the knot in 2008.

According to People Magazine, the “Wild ‘n Out” star opened up about the self-doubt that lingered in the shadows of their marriage, confessing that he often wondered if all that he was as an individual was being “Mariah’s man.”

“I didn’t actually really care what the world thought because the perception, you know, that is what it is. People are going to love you one day, hate you the next day,” Cannon explained. “I could care less about that. … But going to myself with that pressure of, ‘Who am I?'”

“I got married in my 20s, you know what I mean? To the biggest star in the world,” he continued.

“My trajectory was here,” he said, gesturing downwards, “and then hers — she’s already in a different stratosphere.”

The 44-year-old TV host went on to share how he struggled with his identity and masculinity in their relationship as he was often forced to succumb to the fact that Carey would take the lead, especially with her superstar status.

According to the news outlet, he noted that he struggled to have his own identity away from Carey. However, he acknowledged that he got “comfortable” with her, joking that “she’s got islands and I’m waking up at noon and people bringing me steaks on a platter.”

“I would lay up at night thinking, like, ‘Is this who I am? Am I Mariah’s man? Is that what my life is supposed to be?'” Cannon recounted. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

The “Drumline” actor also explained that he struggled with the “hierarchy” of their family after they welcomed their twin kids, Moroccan and Monroe, in April 2011.

“I’m carrying a purse, the diaper bag and, you know, I’m standing on the corner like, ‘Wait.’ She’s rocking being the alpha,” Cannon shared, agreeing when the podcast’s host acknowledged, “She deserves it.”

“I believe she needs a dude like that. I’m just not that dude,” Cannon added.

Back in August, Cannon alluded to mending his broken relationship with the “Under the Mistletoe” singer, even though it’s been eight years since they finalized their divorce.

In an interview with E! News alongside his “We Playin’ Spades” cohost Courtney Bee, the “Roll Bounce” actor shared his thoughts on the possibility that they’d find their way back to each other, claiming that they “belong together.”

When asked if he’d get back with her, he replied, “Yes, absolutely. Be stupid if I wouldn’t,” but clarified that “she don’t want me.”

To which his cohost Courtney joked, “Yeah, you done left and had like ten kids.”

The “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” actor previously spoke to Page Six about what raising their teenage children looks like for him, admitting that it has been “the scariest thing” in the world.

“My daughter, she’s wearing makeup now. She doesn’t wear it a lot, luckily, but it scared me,” he said of Monroe. “Like, we were getting ready to go, we’re in Malibu about to go to dinner, and I was like, ‘What is taking her so long?'”

Cannon then disclosed that when he went to check on her, he found hair and make-up products scattered “all over” her bedroom.

“I was like, ‘Wow, you’re just like your mom,'” he shared. “It’s beautiful to see but scary all at the same time.”

Since his marriage to Carey, Cannon has gone on to father multiple children with several other women.

Besides Moroccan and Monroe, the popular host is also dad to Golden, 7, Powerful Queen, 3, and Rise, 1, whom he had with Brittany Bell; 3-year-old twins Zion and Zillion and Beautiful, 1, with Abby De La Rosa; Legendary, 2, with Bre Tiesi; Onyx, 2, with LaNisha Cole; and Halo, 1, with Alyssa Scott.

Cannon also fathered a baby boy named Zen with Scott but lost him at five months old in 2021 due to a brain tumor.