Nick Cannon Says He’s Trying to Find ‘The Purpose Through All of the Pain’ Following Son Zen’s Death

Inspiring. Nick Cannon revealed how he’s dealing with the tragic, untimely death of his 5-month-old son, Zen, whom he shared with partner Alyssa Scott.

“You pray for miracles,” the longtime Nickelodeon personality, 41, told Hoda Kotb during the Thursday, December 16, episode of Today. “Coming from a faith-based background, it’s not for the miracle to do something that’s unknown to us, but it’s really for the things that we can find comfort in.”

Nick added that he “asked for the miracle of strength” to be able to appear on the talk show.

“I’m taking it as my therapist says, five minutes at a time,” the Love Don’t Cost a Thing actor explained. “I’m optimistic in finding the purpose through all of the pain, so I’m attempting to smile, I’m attempting to be the high-frequency individual that I’ve set out to be, but along the way, there’s definitely some curves in the journey, so I’m taking it five minutes at a time.”

Nick’s Today interview comes less than two weeks since sharing the news of Zen’s passing. The Wild ‘N Out star and Alyssa, 28, welcomed Zen in June before he was later diagnosed with Hydrocephalus, a form of brain cancer, in August.

“I always noticed he had a cough and so I wanted to check it out,” Nick recalled during the December 7, episode of The Nick Cannon Show. “He had this interesting breathing and by the time he was two months, I noticed he had this nice sized head too, we called it a Cannon head. We didn’t think anything of it, but I wanted to take him to the doctor for his sinus and breathing.”

After a malignant tumor was discovered in Zen’s brain, the child underwent surgery to have the fluid drained. However, after Thanksgiving, Nick said his son’s tumor “began to grow a lot faster.”

Come December 5, Nick and Alyssa spent their final day with Zen by the ocean.

“I had to fly back to New York for the show. I got a call on my way to the airport to head back to Zen,” the All That alum continued. “I turned around and not only did we get to see the sunrise, we got to see the sunset too. I held my son for the last time. It was a beautiful setting to spend the day.”

Nick is also a proud father to kids Monroe and Moroccan, whom he shares with ex-wife Mariah Carey; Golden and Powerful Queen, whom he shares with ex Brittany Bell; and Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, whom he shares with ex with Abby De La Rosa.