Nick Cannon Praises Ex Mariah Carey for Being the 'Perfect Wife' Amid Lupus Diagnosis: 'She Was My Rock'

Does Nick Cannon have a favorite ex?

In a recent interview, the father-of-12 spoke about how then-wife Mariah Carey was an incredible caretaker when he was diagnosed with lupus in 2012.

“She was my rock, man,” the 42-year-old said while 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.”

Cannon said that despite “who she is,” referring to how famous the Grammy-winning pop sensation is, Carey was always “loving enough to take on” his health woes.

“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,” the America’s Got Talent alum told host Steven Bartlett. “But it definitely brought us closer together.”

Cannon — who shares twins Moroccan and Monroe, 12, with Carey — added that at the time of his illness he often wondered, “Was I was gonna live? What was life all about? Had I wasted my time?” and questioned if he’d even be “here” for their children.

“We get caught up in the rat race of the day-to-day, but it slowed down for me on many occasions,” he noted. “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.”

To conclude their conversation about his health, Cannon explained that he often thinks about “physical mortality,” but his lack of fear toward death allows him “to focus on living.”

The comedian confirmed his diagnosis with the “autoimmune disease, like a lupus type of thing” with Us Weekly in March 2012. Prior to the announcement, the star also suffered from kidney failure and had two blood clots in his lung.

“It’s a lot of stuff, but it’s all in order now,” Cannon said at the time. “I feel blessed to be alive.”

Just two years after the news, Cannon and Carey decided to call it quits.

“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,” the Masked Singer host told Us Weekly in 2019. “I always want what’s best for my children.”

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