Nick Cannon Expecting Baby No. 8 With Partner Brie Tiesi

Congratulations are in order for Nick Cannon again. The Nick Cannon Show host and model Brie Tiesi are expecting their first child together. This will be Cannon’s eighth child, and the news comes just over a month after his 5-month-old son Zen died after a battle with brain cancer.

Cannon, 41, shared the news on Monday’s episode of his talk show while discussing the news that singer Rihanna and rapper A$AP Rocky are expecting their first child together. Cannon told his audience he was “Starting his own football team,” jokingly adding that Rihanna’s child is not his. Then, he shared a photo of his gender reveal party with Tiesi.

“It’s a boy! We found out yesterday,” Cannon said, reports Entertainment Tonight. “Everyone knows I have a lot of children. It’s never a competition. Each one is special.” Cannon also noted that the negative attention his fatherhood attracts has led to him seeking help with therapy, especially critics who accuse him of being irresponsible. The Masked Singer host said he took a vow of celibacy, but Tiesi became pregnant before that. She is about 20 weeks along.

Photos from his and Tiesi’s baby shower in Malibu on Saturday surfaced over the weekend. The photos showed Cannon wearing all white and hugging Tiesi as she showed off her baby bump. This is Tiesi’s first child, and she was previously married to quarterback Johnny Manziel, whom she divorced in November.

Cannon is already a father to 10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex-wife Mariah Carey. He also shares Golden, 4, and Powerful Queen, 1, with Brittany Bell; and 7-month-old twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir with Abby De La Rosa. Cannon and Alyssa Scott also welcomed Zen last year.

During an episode of The Nick Cannon Show in early December, Cannon shared the heartbreaking news about Zen. His seventh child was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a type of brain cancer. After his doctors discovered Zen had fluid building in his head and a malignant tumor, the baby had brain surgery. His condition took a turn for the worse around Thanksgiving.

“Ultimately, it was cancer in the brain and the tumor began to grow a lot faster. And so we knew that time was…” Cannon said through tears at the time. “This weekend I made a valid effort to spend the most quality time I could spend with Zen. We woke up on Sunday – I got to spend the weekend with him – and I woke up on Sunday and was like, ‘I feel like I want to go to the water.’ We got a chance to go to the ocean.”

Cannon then took a brief break from his show before returning. On Monday, Cannon said he learned Tiesi was pregnant before Zen died, but he wanted to wait to announce the news publicly out of respect of Scott.