Nick Cannon Shares A Tribute To His Late Baby Boy Zen

Nick Cannon‘s late son, Zen, will always hold a special place in his father’s heart.

Source: Bruce Glikas / Getty

Nick Cannon shares with fans online that he’s still mourning the death of his 5-month-old baby boy who died of brain cancer in December.

After subsequent surgeries and procedures, Zen’s health took a turn for the worse around Thanksgiving. Cannon said he was with Zen when he took his last breath on December 5, 2021. A few days after Zen’s passing, Cannon shared that he had gotten a rib tattoo in his memory that took over five hours to complete.

“We could have had that existence where he would’ve had to live in the hospital, hooked up to machines, for the rest of the time,” he added. “To see that happen to a 2-month-old, I didn’t want that. I didn’t want him to suffer.”

In the photo shared on Instagram, Cannon sits with five of his children, including 10-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe, whom he shares with ex-wife Mariah Carey.

Cannon shared Zen with his ex, model Alyssa Scott.

During Nick Cannon’s recent interview with People he opened up about explaining Zen’s death to his six other children, describing the conversation with his older children as “pretty intense.”

Outside of baby Zen and twins Moroccan and Monroe, Cannon is dad to 7-month-old twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, 1-year-old daughter Powerful Queen and 4-year-old son Golden.

“But their understanding and them being there for me probably helped me keep it together as well as really deal with it,” he shared. “Specifically, even, Roc and Roe. They were there for the entire journey.”

Cannon gives much credit to his oldest daughter, Roe, for helping him process Zen’s loss, telling PEOPLE, “My daughter, really, she’s so in tune and in line and wise beyond her years. I got a lot of therapists, but she’s probably my best therapist.”

“She keeps me in check. She’s so pure and so honest. To be 10, she asks some really strong and powerful questions. Really, just it’s all out of love. She’s my oldest child. Even though they’re twins, she came out first and she lets everybody know it. She’s helped me keep it strong.”

Cannon’s ex girlfriend and mother of baby Zen, has also helped to keep him strong. The Wild “N Out host spoke highly about Scott, whom he said is “the strongest individuals” he has ever seen.

“For a mother who carried a beautiful child for nine months and nurtured and cared for him every single day through this process… I attempt to be there for her, but I watch her strength and I’m in awe daily,” he said, per Yahoo News.

Scott previously told PEOPLE that it was “a privilege being Zen’s mommy” and that his “spirit and light will shine bright forever.”

“Oh my sweet Zen. The soreness I felt in my arm from holding you is slowly fading away. It’s a painful reminder that you are no longer here,” she wrote. “I caught myself looking in the backseat as I was driving only to see the mirror no longer reflecting your perfect face back at me. When I close a door too loudly I hold my breath and wince knowing a soft cry will shortly follow. It doesn’t come. The silence is deafening.”

BOSSIP sends love and condolences towards Nick Cannon and his family as they continue to process and heal from this loss.