Nick Cannon felt 'insecure' with Mariah Carey during their marriage

Nick Cannon has been feeling very insecure for a big reason.

And it may not be what you expect.

Although he has had many women (and many children) since they were together, Nick Cannon still misses Mariah Carey.

Thinking back, he's opening up about the insecurities that plagued him while he was with his more famous and successful ex.

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What made Nick Cannon feel insecure?

On Thursday, October 24, Nick Cannon appeared on the Ray Daniels presents podcast. Among other topics, he delved into his marriage to Mariah Carey in 2008 and how this led him to question his position in the world.

“I didn't really care what the world thought because perception, you know, that's what it is,” he reflected.

“People will love you one day and hate you the next,” Nick Cannon characterized then.

“I don't care about that at all,” Nick Cannon added before delving into what left him feeling insecure.

“But facing that pressure of 'Who am I?'” he added.

“I got married when I was 20, you know what I mean? To the biggest star in the world,” said Nick Cannon. Maybe 28 is a little young to marry, but too young to experience fame through association with your spouse.

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Who WOULDN'T feel insecure if they were Nick Cannon married to Mariah Carey?

“My journey was here,” Nick Cannon acknowledged on the podcast, gesturing to show his relative lack of fame and success compared to Mariah Carey. “And then hers: she is already in a different stratosphere.”

During the podcast episode, she admitted that she struggled to maintain her own identity beyond the relationship.

He admitted that he felt “comfortable” during the marriage. “She has islands,” Nick Cannon characterized, “and I wake up at noon and people bring me steaks on a platter.”

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“I would lie there at night thinking, 'Is this who I am? Am I Mariah's man? Is that what my life is supposed to be?'” Nick Cannon recalled. “There's nothing wrong with it.”

However, their conceptions of masculinity felt threatened. He admitted that he also had problems with his family's “hierarchy”, particularly after they welcomed Morocco and Mornroe in 2011.

“I'm carrying a bag, the diaper bag and, you know, I'm standing in the corner like, 'Wait.' “She's great at being the alpha,” Nick Cannon described.

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'She deserves it'

When the podcast host pointed out that Mariah Carey has more than earned her aforementioned “alpha” status, Nick Cannon acknowledged that it was true.

“I think she needs a guy like that. I'm just not that guy,” he confessed.

Knowing that you are insecure is the first step to solving it. Or, in Nick Cannon's case, knowing he's insecure was apparently part of his process of leaving that marriage behind to pursue daddy shenanigans as he has done in recent years. To each his own?