Nick Cannon is going to be a father of 11.
On Tuesday, the 42-year-old actor confirmed he is expecting his second baby with model Alyssa Scott, nearly one year after the death of their son, Zen.
The model took to Instagram to celebrate the baby news, where she posted a series of pictures from a maternity photoshoot. The post featured Cannon and Scott posing nude in a bathtub, as Cannon cradled her growing baby bump. “This is a MIRACLE & a BLESSING,” the 29-year-old captioned one of the posts. In another black-and-white image, the Wild N’ Out host is seen kissing Scott’s stomach as she covered her breasts.
On 26 October, Scott announced on Instagram that she was expecting her third child, but did not share any further details at the time. She debuted her baby bump under a bodycon blue dress as she held her four-year-old daughter Zeela, who wore a matching blue top. “With you by my side…” Scott captioned the post.
The baby news comes just two months before the first anniversary of her son’s death. In December 2021, Cannon and Scott’s baby Zen died at five months old after suffering from a rare brain tumor called hydrocephalus.
Cannon detailed his son’s final days during an episode of the Nick Cannon Show last December. “This weekend I made an effort to spend the most quality time with Zen,” he tearfully told the audience. “We woke up on Sunday and went to the ocean with him and Alyssa and then I had to fly back to New York for the show.
“I got a call on my way to the airport to head back to Zen,” he said, adding that he wanted to go back to work and keep busy to help with his grieving process.
The comedian previously admitted to feeling guilty that he didn’t spend as much time with his son Zen before his death. In February, Cannon shared a clip from a podcast episode with Dr Laura Berman on his show, in which he discussed his grief and feelings of regret.
“One thing that keeps me up at night, there’s this heavy, heavy guilt with the fact that I didn’t get to spend time – like I really wanted to – with Zen,” he said in the clip.
Alyssa Scott marked her son’s first birthday in June when she shared a video tribute of Zen to Instagram. “Happy heavenly birthday Zen,” she wrote in the caption. “At the root of all the emotions I have today there is insurmountable love.”
“I always try my best to remain positive but right now I can’t help but cry out ‘it’s not suppose to be like this’. In my mind I can see him smashing his cake and crawling around, tugging at my legs,” she continued. “But the reality is I will be the one to blow out his first candle. I will be wishing he was still here with us. GO REST HIGH”.
In addition to Zen, Nick Cannon is also a father to nine other children. The rapper shares 11-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey; four-year-old Golden Sagon, one-year-old Powerful Queen, and one-month-old Rise Messiah with Brittany Bell; twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir with Abby De La Rosa; son Legendary Love with Bre Tiesi; and daughter Onyx Ice Cole with LaNisha Cole.
In September, Cannon welcomed his 10th child just two weeks after the birth of his ninth. Cannon received criticism earlier this year for announcing that he’s expecting another child with Bre Tiesi only two months after Zen’s death. But the television personality quickly issued an apology on his talk show.
“I actually would like to take a moment just to be honest and even take a moment to listen… and apologise properly,” Cannon said. “I wish to always protect and respect the privacy of the mothers of all my children…whether that’s someone who’s new or someone who’s had my child and I have such a great relationship and great admiration for everyone in my life.”
“I didn’t know how to explain it, I didn’t know what to say, so I was probably talking too fast and probably misspoke and I know I could do better when dealing with delicate and sensitive discussions,” he continued. “So I promise you, I promise the mothers of my children, I promise my family that I would do better, continue to be more understanding, caring, compassionate like they often show me, each and every day through these processes.”
