Mariah Carey Announces Pregnancy, Reveals Past Miscarriage

Oct. 28, 2010 — -- It's official: Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon will soon be welcoming what might be a pint-size musical prodigy into their family.

In an "Access Hollywood" interview airing tonight, Carey, 41, confirmed what many celebrity watchers have been suspecting for months -- she's pregnant.

"Yes, we are pregnant, this is true!" Carey told "Access Hollywood's" Billy Bush of the baby that is due this spring. She and Cannon spoke with Bush at their New York City apartment. "It's been a long journey. It's been tough, because I've been trying to hold on to a shred of privacy."

Carey said that after months of media speculation, she decided it was time to come clean.

"At this point, there is no choice. I either talk or I hibernate," she said.

Carey revealed that part of the reason she and Cannon kept her pregnancy a secret is because she had a miscarriage two years ago.

"It kind of shook us both and took us into a place that was really dark and difficult," Carey said. "When that happened ... I wasn't able to even talk to anybody about it. That was not easy."

Now, she and Cannon are ecstatic about their first child. Carey said she wants to keep the sex of the baby a surprise -- even to her and Cannon -- but the couple isn't sure they'll able to stand the suspense.

"The greatest gift on earth is a child," Cannon said. "We've had names picked out from the first day we met and we want to stay true to that."

A clip of the three-part interview aired on NBC's "Today" show this morning.

For months, Carey and Cannon dodged speculation about her expanding figure. Last week, at a New York City listening party for her new holiday album, "Merry Christmas II You," Carey wore a navy blue, knit, empire waist dress adorned with matching sequins and ruffles that revealed little of her mid section. A podium conveniently concealed her stomach while she spoke.

Mariah Carey's Quest to Keep Pregnancy Under Wraps

The crowd perked up when Carey said "I've got to reveal," but collectively slumped back as she finished her sentence -- "the rest of this album to you. If I missed something, let me know." Cannon ushered her backstage before anyone in the audience could ask the million-dollar question.

Photos from the past few months have chronicled the singer's ballooning figure and fueled reports that she's got a baby on board. Those reports intensified earlier this month, when Cannon, 30, gushed to OK! Magazine about Carey's maternal instinct and revealed that the couple has already picked out baby names.

"She's going to be amazing!," Cannon said about Carey's potential as a mother at his 30th birthday party Friday night. "I will be a good dad too, but she's such a nurturing spirit, she'll be good."

"We've been naming our kids since the day we met," he added. "I can't give you that though, you're trying to get me in trouble with my wife!"

Carey made a more direct attempt to quell queries about her physical state in August by releasing a statement through her publicist, Cindi Berger: "I appreciate everyone's well wishes, but I am very superstitious. When the time is right, everyone will know -- even Cindi Berger."