Nick Cannon has opened up about the differing rules he applies to his 15-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe, when it comes to dating. The 45-year-old television personality, who shares the teenagers with ex-wife Mariah Carey, admitted on The TMZ Podcast that while he encourages his son to date, his daughter is not afforded the same freedom.
During the Saturday episode, Cannon revealed, 'My son been dating and I've allowed it. I've encouraged it.' However, when asked if Monroe could date, he responded, 'No, absolutely not.' He acknowledged this is 'absolutely a double standard,' explaining that there is a difference between parenting a son and a daughter.
'I am more protective of my daughter because there's things out there that I have to protect my daughter from,' Cannon said. 'Like, as we know, there's certain types of individuals that you want to keep your daughter away from. My son, it's a different conversation when he's going out into the dating world.'
The star added that someone hurting Monroe is his 'worst nightmare,' stating, 'If somebody puts their hands on my daughter, I'm going to jail... I'm doing 25 to life.'
When asked if he worries about 'gold diggers' approaching Moroccan, Cannon laughed, 'No! He got a whole lot of money. His mom is Mariah Carey! He's good.'
Cannon also revealed a 'deal' with Monroe: if she can explain what will happen on a date, she can go. He joked that her twin brother could tag along, but added, 'You ain't going one-on-one with no little b*****d anywhere.' He said he is preparing her for college, where he knows he cannot control her choices.
Social media reactions were mixed. Some users supported Cannon's stance, with one writing, 'I understand him. Parenting a teenage boy is entirely DIFFERENT than a teenage girl.' Another said, 'Nope, he's absolutely right on that and I am the same exact way.' However, critics argued, 'Literally makes no sense,' and questioned why Monroe couldn't date if Moroccan could.
The twins celebrated their 15th birthday last month with a trip to Six Flags, where Cannon shared photos on Instagram, captioning, 'Got two 15 year olds on my hands now!!!!'
Carey has previously spoken positively about co-parenting with Cannon, telling Harper's Bazaar in July 2024, 'They spend time with him, and they have a good time; they spend time with me, and they have a good time.' However, in September 2024, she declined to comment on him, saying, 'I kind of feel like it's best if I don't talk about him.'
Cannon has 12 children in total with six different women, including the twins, and has blamed his divorce from Carey for triggering 'trauma' that led to his large family.
