Nick Cannon says he feels ‘guilty’ for not spending enough time with late son Zen

Presenter has been grieving his five-month-old son after his death in December

Nick Cannon has admitted to feeling guilty that he didn’t spend as much time with his son Zen before his death.

The presenter welcomed Zen, his seventh child, in June with model Alyssa Scott. Sadly, the baby was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died in December 2021 at five months old.

Cannon featured a clip of a podcast conversation with Dr Laura Berman on his talk show. In it, he discussed his grief and his feelings of regret that he wasn’t available to spend more time with his child.

“One thing that keeps me up at night, there’s this heavy, heavy guilt with the fact that that I didn’t get to spend time – like I really wanted to – with Zen,” he said.

The Wild ‘N Out host is expecting his eighth child later this year. Along with his 10-year-old twins with ex-wife Mariah Carey, he also has four-year-old son Golden and one-year-old daughter Powerful Queen with Brittany Bell, and twin sons Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir with DJ Abby de la Rosa.

Having children of “similar ages” but living apart from them and having a busy career has added to his feelings of stress, he said. He admitted to feeling “guilty that I’m not there every day.”

Cannon explained: “Those children yearn for more and I can only give so much.

“I walk around with a backpack full of guilt, but at least I know that the harder that I work, it makes the guilt easier to deal with.”

Nick Cannon (CW)

When asked to identify the moments when he’s feeling guiltiest, he said: “[when I’m] not working and I’m spending time with a young lady. I’m like, ‘I’ve got a house full of kids.’”

Elsewhere in the discussion, Cannon referred to his relationship with Carey, sharing that he and the “We Belong Together” singer work well as co-parents despite no longer being romantically linked.

On Valentine’s Day (Monday 14 February), Cannon released a new single called “Alone”, which samples an early Mariah Carey track. Fans have speculated whether the song is a plea from Cannon to reconcile their marriage.

Though he has not yet commented on the rumours, he stated in the podcast interview that he and Carey are “really great friends”.