A Timeline Of Nick Cannon's Complicated Love Life
Nick Cannon is a busy man. An actor, rapper, and comedian, he also owns his own production company, maintains several gigs as a TV and radio show host, and has worked as a director on multiple projects. On top of juggling all of these roles and businesses at once, he places a high priority on his romantic relationships and building a family. At the time of this writing, Cannon is a father of eight (Monroe, Morocco, Golden, Powerful, Zion, Zillion, Zen, and the yet-unnamed newest Cannon due later in 2022) and has been linked to multiple women over the years, including the likes of Kim Kardashian and Christina Milian.
In the past, Cannon has been a one-woman type of man, even spending several years married to pop star Mariah Carey. But these days, it seems the "Wild 'n Out" host has changed his tune when it comes to romantic relationships. On a February 2022 episode of "The Language of Love" podcast, Cannon discussed his current outlook on love, as well as his refusal to use labels like polyamorous or monogamous, saying, "To define me, is to confine me." He continued, "I don't feel like monogamy is healthy. I feel like that gets into the space of selfishness and ownership."
Given his very free approach to relationships, his romantic history does, understandably, get a little difficult to follow. Below, we've sorted out a timeline of Cannon's love life, from his first public girlfriend to his most recent love, which will hopefully bring a little more clarity to his past.
A romance made for the big screen
Nearly two decades ago, way back in 2003, Nick Cannon made things official with his first celebrity girlfriend, Christina Milian. The couple met on the set of their teenage comedy "Love Don't Cost a Thing," and by the time the movie wrapped, their on-screen romance had turned into a real-life relationship. Chatting about the film's legacy and the tabloid-friendly romance it spawned, the "Wild 'n Out" host told the International Business Times, "We didn't start dating until the very end of the movie, so it was actually cool because it allowed the chemistry to actually be real and really work."
Unfortunately, the relationship didn't end in a happily ever after. After two years of dating, Milian discovered that Cannon had been unfaithful and swiftly ended things. She later recounted the story of uncovering her then-boyfriend's duplicity to E! News, saying, "When I was dating Nick Cannon, the password [to his phone] somehow worked on the first check ... and next thing you know ... I was reading messages." She continued on to say that she waited to confront him until she had gathered her "intel," but once she was sure, she knew she had to leave, even though Cannon was her "first love." For his part, Cannon maintains he doesn't "think [he] did anything wrong," telling Power 106 he "want[ed] to get caught."
His relationship with a small-screen star
The way Nick Cannon tells it, he met his next girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, on the set of "Moesha." In his song "My Side of the Story," he raps, "Met Ray J's stylist she was smilin' and creepin'/ she was 'bout it, I was 'bout it, now let's go get pizza/ Kim was the flyest chick/ I get why Kanye be wylin' and tweakin." The two only dated for a short while in late 2006 and early 2007, and because Kardashian wasn't yet a household name, their relationship wasn't quite the gossip blog fodder it would be today.
In the years since, both celebrities have given differing statements on the intensity of their relationship. In a 2007 interview with Complex, Kim said, "We were never really ... we were always friends. He was someone who I enjoyed spending my time with, but we were never really a couple." In contrast, Cannon confessed on an episode of "Drink Champs" that the reality star "broke [his] heart."
Regardless of how serious the couple was, the relationship wasn't meant to last, and it seems Kardashian's sex tape surfacing is what pushed Cannon over the edge. On "The Howard Stern Show" (via The Huffington Post), Cannon said, "This was my issue. We talked about this tape ... And she told me there was no tape. If she might have been honest with me I might have tried to hold her down ... because she is a great girl. ... But the fact that she lied and told me that there was no tape?"
Nick Cannon's first engagement
It didn't take Nick Cannon long to rebound from Kim Kardashian — by mid-2007, the actor was linked to Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks. The two had previously met, and they reconnected at a party after the Cannon-Kardashian relationship fell apart. They fell for each other fast. Just weeks after they made things official, Cannon was gushing to People about his new girlfriend, saying, "She changed me — I'm no longer a player. She changed everything." To prove how serious he was about her, Cannon proposed just three months into the relationship, projecting the words "Selita, will you marry me?" onto a jumbotron in the middle of Times Square.
Alas, it wasn't meant to last, and five months later, the engagement was off. At the time, reps for the couple gave the classic excuse of a desire to take some time apart to focus on their careers. Years later, in an interview on "The Breakfast Club," Ebanks provided a little more perspective on the split, saying, "That was a long time ago. I was very young, he was young. Everything happens for a reason. ... it was a lesson that I needed." Given her tone and demeanor in the interview, it seems that perhaps Ebanks was the one responsible for ending the relationship, with the model admitting that she felt pressure to say yes to Cannon's proposal due to how public it was.
The TV host and the pop star
One of Nick Cannon's very first jobs in Hollywood, way back in 1995, was as an extra in a Mariah Carey music video. Little did he know then, but the pop star would go on to become his wife. The two quietly started dating in 2008, and within the space of a few weeks, were engaged and then married. Carey told Elle (via People) that Cannon actually proposed to her twice — once "with a 17-carat diamond hidden inside a candy ring pop," and then again a few days later by "kidnapping" her and taking her on a romantic helicopter ride. Days after the proposals, the couple tied the knot in a low-key ceremony at Carey's estate in the Bahamas. At the time, Carey told People, "We really do feel we are soulmates. I never felt a love like this was in the cards for me."
By 2014, following elaborate vow renewals each year on their anniversary and the birth of their twins Monroe and Morocco, the fairy tale love had started to fizzle out. The two divorced in 2016 but have seemingly remained on good terms. Speaking to Variety in 2020, Cannon explained that the civility the exes share was always a part of the plan, saying, "We talked everything out. ... It was more that whimsical fantasy idea of let's have as much fun as we possibly can and when it no longer feels like fun, when it feels like a task and a job, then we should amicably be able to move on."
Nick Cannon goes quiet
Following his split from Mariah Carey in 2014, Nick Cannon has been much quieter about his love life. He rarely speaks to the press about the women he's dating these days, except when he's announcing a new pregnancy, so the details we can gather about his more recent loves are a bit more scattered. That being said, here's what we know about his former flame Brittany Bell.
According to The Sun, the couple met sometime in 2015 and dated on and off until 2017, when their first child, son Golden "Sagon" Cannon, was born. Following Golden's arrival, the rumor mill alleged that the duo had split for good, but they were spotted in public once again in 2020 and welcomed their second child, daughter Powerful Queen Cannon, later that year. As far as we can tell, Nick and the beauty pageant queen (Bell won the Miss Guam crown in 2014, per Hollywood Life) are no longer together, but given their on-again, off-again history, we certainly wouldn't be surprised if they were to link up again in the future. After all, Bell seems to have everything Nick is looking for: brains (she has a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and is working on her master's degree), beauty, and an entrepreneurial spirit (she founded the Mama Gang fashion line).
Things get complicated
Nick Cannon's next two relationships with Lanisha Cole and Abby De La Rosa overlapped quite a bit. Cannon began dating Cole, a former "Price is Right" model, in 2017 when he was separated from Brittany Bell. That initial brush with love was apparently pretty short-lived, and the couple split for several years before reconnecting in 2020. They were going strong into 2021, as demonstrated by Cole's Instagram post (via The Shade Room) celebrating her boo's recovery from COVID-19. She captioned a photo of their clasped hands, "This morning was a roller coaster of emotions but I am so grateful to hold him again ... he truly has my whole heart." But just days later, Bossip reported that the pair had likely ended things for good after Cole posted an Instagram story that simply said, "No person or situation is worth compromising my peace over."
It's thought that the thing that impacted Cole's peace may have been Cannon's ongoing relationship with De La Rosa. In June 2021, the "Wild 'n Out" host welcomed twin boys, Zion and Zillion, with the DJ. In a series of Instagram Stories (via People), De La Rosa shared a little more about how she met Cannon, explaining they had "crossed paths numerous times throughout the years" thanks to work, but didn't "officially" connect until 2019 when they were recording their radio shows in the same studio. As for their pregnancy, it was planned, according to De La Rosa, who said, "Nick was such a great friend to me and just so good to me, and then our focus became to have a baby."
The complications continue for The Masked Singer host
Right around the same time Nick Cannon was seeing both Lanisha Cola and Abby De La Rosa, he was also involved with Alyssa Scott. We're not sure exactly when Scott and Cannon started dating, but we do know that they likely met on the set of "Wild 'n Out," where Scott worked as a model. Things must have moved fairly quickly between them because in early 2021, the model was visibly pregnant in pictures she was posting on Instagram. In an Instagram Story posted on Father's Day 2021 (captured by People) she appeared to confirm Cannon was a dad-to-be, captioning a sweet maternity picture of the two of them, "Celebrating you today." A month later, she confirmed the arrival of their son, Zen S. Cannon, in another Instagram post.
Sadly, just five months later, Zen died of a brain tumor. Cannon shared the tragic news on his talk show "The Nick Cannon Show," praising his partner throughout the segment. "Zen's mom, Alyssa, was ... the strongest woman I've ever seen," he said. "We never had an argument, never was angry, was emotional when she needed to be, but was always the best mom, and continues to be the best mom possible. So I gotta say thank you." We're unclear on the status of Cannon and Scott's relationship these days, but we hope, for their sake, it was able to weather the storm.
Nick Cannon's most recent love
The newest woman in Nick Cannon's life is Bre Tiesi. Before meeting Cannon, Tiesi became a tabloid staple as the hard-partying wife of Johnny Manziel, a former quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. Per People, the couple divorced in November 2021. A fitness influencer and Instagram model, Tiesi likely met Cannon on the set of "Wild 'n Out" (she briefly appeared as a model on the comedy series, according to Hollywood Life). In early 2022, after only dating for a few months, Tiesi and Cannon announced their pregnancy.
Following the shocking news (it came right on the heels of the announcement about baby Zen's death) an insider told ET, "Nick and Bre have been very close friends for a while. They have also worked together and know each other extremely well. Their relationship has a strong foundation and Bre is so excited to be having Nick's baby." The individual continued, "Bre is very hardworking and has a tough attitude, which complements Nick's personality and vibe." So while their pregnancy may have come as a surprise to fans, it seems the couple is taking it all in stride, embarking on this new phase of their relationship with the support of those closest to them.