Nick Cannon Praises Ex-Wife Mariah Carey for Going ‘Hard’ for Him After His Lupus Diagnosis

When Nick Cannon was first diagnosed with lupus, it was ex-wife Mariah Carey who leaped into action as a caregiver.

“She was my rock, man,” Cannon, 42, recalled during a recent appearance on the“Diary of a CEO” podcast. “She went hard. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for how hard she went with the doctors, with me [and] my stubbornness. She was the perfect helpmate, the perfect matriarch, the perfect mom, the perfect wife in those scenarios.”

The comedian first confirmed to Us Weekly in March 2012 that he had been diagnosed with an “autoimmune disease, like a lupus type of thing” after previous kidney failure and two blood clots in his lung. “It’s a lot of stuff, but it’s all in order now,” Cannon exclusively told Us at the time. “I feel blessed to be alive.”

Cannon was married to Carey, now 54, at the time. He added on the podcast that despite “who she is” as a Grammy-winning pop star, Carey continued to be “loving enough to take on” his health setback.

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“It probably took a toll on [our relationship] just because of the person I was in my head and the struggles that I was dealing with,” Cannon told podcast host Steven Bartlett. “But it definitely brought us closer together.”

The Masked Singer host, who shares twins Moroccan and Monroe, 12, with Carey, further revealed that he was internally dealing with questions like “Was I was gonna live?” “What was life all about?” “Had I wasted my time?” and if he’d be able to be “here” for his children.

“We get caught up in the rat race of the day-to-day, but it slowed down for me on many occasions,” he explained. “Is this a wrap [and is] he almost out of here? And I wasn’t scared, that was the crazy thing when you get to the point where you’re like, ‘Oh, OK, I had a good run.’ … I was content, I wasn’t scared. It happened more than once and it continues to.”

Cannon noted that he is frequently reminded of his “physical mortality,” but that being unafraid of death allows “you to focus on living.”

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Cannon and Carey ultimately split in 2016 and the duo have since become amicable coparents for their twins.

“We got our egos and this selfish behavior [but] when you put your children first, you understand that it’s all unconditional love. All that other stuff just falls apart,” Cannon previously told Us in April 2019. “I always want what’s best for my children.”

Cannon is also a father of 11 other children. He shares son Golden, daughter Powerful and son Rise with Brittany Bell, as well as twin sons Zillion and Zion and daughter Beautiful with Abby De La Rosa. The Drumline star also coparents son Legendary with Bre Tiesi and daughter Onyx with LaNisha Cole. Cannon welcomed his 12th child, daughter Halo, last year with Alyssa Scott. Cannon and Scott’s first child together, son Zen, died in December 2021 at 7 months old.