Nick Cannon Struggled More In His Marriage To Mariah Carey Than We Realized

While Nick Cannon's relationship with Mariah Carey ended in 2014, he often speaks of her and their time together. In an October 2024 episode of "The GAUDS Show," Cannon opened up about their marriage and his identity struggles.

"I got married in my 20s to the biggest star in the world. My trajectory was here," he said, holding his hand low, "and then hers — she's already in a different stratosphere." That difference in their fame and success created doubts in Cannon. "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?' There's nothing wrong with it. I got really comfortable with it. She's got islands ... people [would be] bringing me steaks on a platter," Cannon joked. Eventually that comfort morphed into insecurity and doubt about his ability to be Carey's partner. "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 ... I believe she needs a dude like that. I'm just not that dude." 

Cannon still speaks highly of Carey and carries a lot of love for his ex-wife. On a March 2023 episode of "The Shade Room," he called Carey "the coolest person I've ever met. I get a lot of this delightful disposition from her, like she's just always happy, always doing for others no matter what's happening in life ... she's a gift from God."

Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey were married in 2008 and welcomed twins in 2011. In her memoir "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," Carey wrote that "Our desire to have children became a force of nature and why we got married so quickly." However, the couple separated in 2014 and finalized their divorce in 2016.

"Honestly, I think Nick and I could have worked it out between the two of us, but egos and emotions got inflamed," Carey wrote in her memoir. Cannon had a similar sentiment, saying he felt like a "participant" in Carey's world at times. "I'm main character energy!" he exclaimed on "The GAUDS Show." "I was getting mad at myself ... It was like, I'm not being the dude that god put me on this earth to be."

While the couple is no longer together, they do get along well and coparent their twins. "We both wanted to make sure everything was cool for our family. We will always be family, and we make it work," Carey wrote in her memoir. Cannon held out hopes for a reunion as recent as August 2024, saying, "[I'd] be stupid if I wouldn't," when discussing if he would ever consider getting back together with Carey in an interview with E! News. However, he's acknowledged that she's moved on, telling People, "Yeah, she don't want me. She's moved on from my crazy antics."