Why Nick Cannon, Mariah Carey Split: Money, Cheating, And Time Apart Could Be Reasons For Possible Divorce

Nick Cannon confirmed Thursday that he and Mariah Carey are estranged, six years after exchanging “I dos.” But it's unlikely he will be saying much more about their divorce after Carey reportedly had her lawyer give him a confidentiality agreement barring him from sharing details of their divorce. If he does, he will face “severe financial penalties,” TMZ reports.

“There is trouble in paradise,” Cannon told The Insider. “We have been living in separate houses for a few months.” The couple sold their three-acre Bel Air property in July for $10 million after purchasing it together in 2009. “My main focus is my kids,” he added. The couple has twins, a daughter, Monroe, named after the late actress Marilyn Monroe, and a son, Moroccan, named after the top tier of Carey's NYC apartment, the Moroccan Room. Meanwhile, Carey’s rep stated, “I am not commenting on Mariah’s personal life, but Mariah is focusing on her children and her upcoming tour.” Why did they split? Let’s look at the top three possible reasons:

Infidelity

Though Cannon claimed infidelity wasn't the reason behind the split, there have been rumors that both he and Carey like to flirt. Carey is believed to be concerned about Cannon’s wandering eye, especially since his MTV show “Wild 'N Out” is staffed with models. At the same time, Carey was getting a little too close for comfort to young men in the music industry. “All this cavorting around with handsome men has Nick seeing red,” a source told the National Enquirer. “He’s about at the end of his rope with Mariah.”

Not Spending Enough Time Together

A breakup sounded plausible, when this past Valentine’s Day, Carey admitted she would be spending it alone. While speaking to radio host Ryan Seacrest in February, Carey said, 'The abandoner is going to be somewhere else. And by abandoner, I mean Nicholas Scott Cannon. I was giving him [beep] about it all day. I’ll be alone with the babies, but they’re my Valentines anyway,” she added.

Money

While Cannon is a businessman in his own right, his empire is worth only a small fraction of Carey’s. Cannon is the host of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” making $70,000 per episode, according to Forbes magazine. He's also a film actor (“Drumline”; “Love Don't Cost a Thing”; and “Roll Bounce”) as well as the chairman of TeenNick, a digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks Kids & Family Group. Cannon also runs his own radio show and an MTV comedy sketch show. His net worth is $20 million. Carey has a net worth of $510 million largely because of her extremely successful music career and various endorsement deals over the years. It could be possible that having a wife who out earned him led to marital issues.

Carey, 44, and Cannon, 33, began dating in 2008 before making their relationship public. They wed within two months of their first date, and renewed their vows every year until recently.