Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott lost their first child together, Zen Cannon, in December 2021. Cannon announced the passing of his seventh child on his self-titled talk show, revealing that the five-month-old died of brain cancer.
Since then, Alyssa and Nick have slightly opened up about treating Zen’s illness and the grief of his passing. On the first anniversary of Zen’s passing, Nick expressed his pain in an Instagram post.
He wrote, in part:
“I can’t believe it’s been a year already since the toughest day of my life occurred. Such a painful anniversary. Losing a child has to be the heaviest, most dark and depressive experiences that I will never get over. A mixture of guilt, pain, and sorrow is what I suppress daily. I am far from perfect and often fall short and make decisions in my life that many question, but anyone who knows me knows my heart. I love hard, I love big and I love with my entire Heart and Soul and I just wish my Little Man could’ve felt more of that love while he was here on Earth.”
In December, Nick also explained why he and Scott declined chemotherapy treatment for Zen during an appearance on Checkup with Dr. David Agus.
“Seeing your son hooked up to all of those machines– and he had to go for a stunt two or three times, and that was heartbreaking every time–even in that short amount of time, I couldn’t imagine him having to go through chemo,” Nick said.
The parents have grieved this last year in parallel to celebrating the pregnancy and birth of their second child and first daughter Halo Marie Cannon. Halo was born on December 14.
Days later, on Dec. 29, Alyssa shared an emotional video highlighting the journey to Halo’s birth. Alyssa wrote:
“December 14, 2022. Our lives are forever changed. Zen is in every breath I take. I know his spirit was with us in the room that morning. I know he is watching down on us. He shows me signs every day. I will hold onto this memory forever. I will remember the sound of Nick’s voice saying, “it’s a girl,” and the look of everything we’ve been through flash across his face. I will remember the sound of her crying out with her first breath and feeling her heartbeat against mine. My sweet girl, I got my surprise!! We love you, Halo Marie Cannon!”
Alyssa Scott On Making Room For Halo Marie After The Passing Of Zen Cannon: ‘I Miss Him Every Minute’
As mentioned, most recently, the mother opened up about packing and passing on items in Zen’s dresser. It seems like Scott waited until the birth to learn whether she and Nick’s second child was a girl or boy. But the pair were blessed with Halo Marie. So, she decided to keep a few pieces from Zen’s closet but also say her goodbyes.
“Well, today is the day I had to pack up Zen’s dresser. Thinking I was going to have a boy brought me some comfort because I didn’t think I would have to face this part. But it’s time to make room for Halo, and it’s going to be okay. Girls rock blue too! So this is what stays,” Alyssa wrote on Instagram Story.
In another story post, Scott shared a photo of her late son, saying, “All of his outfits hold a memory. I miss him every minute.”