Zen is the youngest of Nick Cannon's seven children

9 Dec – Nick Cannon recently surprised many by revealing that he has lost his five-month-old son, Zen.

The actor and TV personality shared the news on "The Nick Cannon Show", saying that he had not shared the news with anybody prior to the broadcast as it had been a tough week.

Cannon said that he and girlfriend Alyssa Scott took their son, who was born early this year, to the doctors after realising that Zen seemed to have signs of sinuses at two months old, only to find out that he had another condition.

Following a surgery, Cannon said that they hoped for the best and even spent as much time as they could with Zen, but said that there was "an interesting turn" during the period of Thanksgiving.

"It was cancer in the brain, and the tumor began to grow a lot faster," he said. "We knew that the time was, so..."

Nick's girlfriend Alyssa Scott with their late son Zen, and her daughter from a previous relationship

A touching family pic

Cannon said that prior to Zen's death, he was able to be with his son and watch the sun rise together on Monday.

"I was holding my son for the last time, but it was a beautiful setting," he said, adding that they were able to watch the sunset together as well.

As to why he returned to the set so soon following his son's passing, Cannon said that he wanted to show that he can fight through this tragedy, and proceeded to declare that the said show is dedicated specially for Zen.

The actor is a father of seven children with their four mothers. He shares twins Monroe and Moroccan Scott with Mariah Carey, whom he was married to for eight years. They divorced in 2016.