• Mariah Carey opened up about what first made her attracted to Nick Cannon and why they got married so fast in her new book The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
  • They divorced after six years of marriage and the fallout was super messy because of their egos and emotions.
  • They are friendly now and spend time with their two children together.

Raise your hand if you were absolutely gobsmacked when you found out Mariah Carey was dating Nick Cannon way back when. TBH, same here. But in Mariah’s new book, she went into so much detail about why she was initially attracted to him, why they got married so fast, and the unfortunate dissolution of their marriage.

Writing her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, she revealed that she initially liked Nick because she “felt safe” with him and like “the power dynamics between us felt even.” Her previous marriage to Tommy Mottola was a completely different story.

Mariah went on to describe Nick as “a good guy.” She continued, “He was faith-based. He was ambitious. He had been in the entertainment industry for a long time, so he understood the madness. He paid attention to me.” (Side note: Nick recently had to apologize for the offensive antisemitic comments he hurled on his podcast that ultimately led to his firing from Wild ’N Out.)

Speaking of their quick marriage, which lasted six years, the “Heartbreaker” singer explained that it had everything to do with wanting to start a family. “Our desire to have children became a force of nature,” she said. They went on to have twins, who are now 9.

moroccan scott cannon and monroe cannon party hosted by mariah carey and nick cannon
FilmMagic//Getty Images

Sadly, their marriage came to an end and the divorce got super messy. “Honestly, I think Nick and I could have worked it out between the two of us, but egos and emotions got inflamed (which can translate into many billable lawyer hours, and ultimately it did). It was tough,” she admitted. It took two years for them to come to an agreement. But despite everything that went down, she knows they’ll always be family at the end of the day.

The Meaning of Mariah Carey

The Meaning of Mariah Carey

The Meaning of Mariah Carey

$28 at Bookshop