Long before fathering twelve children, Nick Cannon briefly practiced celibacy to save himself for marriage.
Celibacy was the topic of discussion during the latest episode of his sex and relationships podcast Nick Cannon at Night, and around the five-minute mark, the entertainer explained his past spiritual journey.
"I tried it for a year and a half when I was young," Cannon said, before breaking down the differences between celibacy and abstinence. While being celibate often means that a person is tied to long-term or lifelong goals of refraining from sex, abstinence is usually a temporary commitment of waiting to have sex until marriage or being in a committed relationship.
"At one point I was attempting to be celibate because it was a very spiritual and religious thing when you grow up in a Christian setting and fornication is bad and all of that stuff," Cannon said. "The goal was like, 'Oh, I've found a partner and we're going to withhold and not have sex until marriage.' And then she cheated on me."
"So, I ain't been selling it since, Doc. I've been out here," Cannon jokingly told professional expert Dr. Dow.
The podcaster and comedian clearly broke his celibacy after being cheated on, as he shares a dozen children with several women, including his oldest children, 14-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe Cannon, with ex-wife Mariah Carey.
Other celebrities who've spoken about celibacy are Mya, 50 Cent and Omarion, who also cited religion as reason for his decision to refrain from sex.
"I did it for three years. Now I look back, I be like, sheesh," Omarion said on a November 2025 episode of podcast On That Note With Shawn Stockman. "‘Cause I love women. I love women in all [their] splendor, friendships, best friends, lovers, all that."