Nick Cannon Says He Doesn't Want His Daughters Dating People Like Him

Nick Cannon is opening up about how fatherhood, particularly to his five daughters, has drastically shifted the way he approaches dating, and he's hoping they can learn from his mistakes.

While promoting his new late-night show with Extra's Mona Kosar Abdi, Cannon got candid about how his past behavior has influenced the way he now views relationships and responsibility. Cannon admitted that he's trying to live a more honest and intentional life, especially with his daughters watching.

"When you have five daughters and you're like, 'All right, I at least want to be able to be true and honest,' but like I can't live the same life that I've always been living and attempt to right my wrongs in that sense of where like hopefully my daughters learn from my mistakes and not date people like their dad," he said.

Cannon has 12 children with six different women, including twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey. He also shares children with Brittany Bell, Abby De La Rosa, Bre Tiesi, LaNisha Cole and Alyssa Scott. His youngest daughter, Halo Marie, was born after the tragic loss of his son Zen in 2021 due to brain cancer.

In March, Cannon told PEOPLE he's "pressing hold" on having more kids for now, "I love children. I love my life [...] I never imagined that I would have 12 kids. So, it's one of those things where if it could keep going in the direction that it's going, why not?"

Cannon also added that his focus is simple and it's being there for his children, "The number one thing is just to be present and to be able to say, 'Hey, I'm here, we're growing together.' [...] You can be present and have multiple relationships. We're seeing so many different flavors of fatherhood now."