mariah carey and nick cannon
Happier Times: Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon were married for six years Getty

Nick Cannon has revealed that he is not convinced about Mariah Carey's romance with her backup younger dancer Bryan Tanaka. Voicing his reservations over the relationship during a recent appearance on the Howard Stern Show, the America's Got Talent host accused his ex-wife of faking it for her reality show, Mariah's World.

The end of Carey's engagement with Australian billionaire James Packer back in November 2016 appeared to pave the way for Tanaka to take his decade-long friendship with the Hero songstress to the next level. Days after it emerged that she would no longer be walking down the aisle – but instead walking away with the $10m (£8m) ring he popped the question with – she was seen painting the town red with Tanaka.

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In the weeks since Tanaka, who has worked with the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna, has made multiple appearances on her show with the pair opening up about their feelings for each other in front of the cameras.

But despite the apparent amorous display, Cannon isn't convinced. "I mean ... I think the whole reality show is fake. You can't have a well-lit private conversation, it doesn't happen," he told Stern. "I don't buy none of that s**t. There was one episode where I was there – I showed up to hang out with my kids and I was like, 'There's f**king cameras here?'"

He added: "When you start trying to pull a fast one on people, that s**t is silly. They wrote the story! That s**t is like a soap opera: 'The billionaire doesn't know, and here's the handsome young dancer'."

The former couple, who have two children together, confirmed their split in August 2014, revealing they were living apart. Weeks later, Cannon replaced his enormous "Mariah" tattoo with a giant Jesus inking. He filed for divorce that December.

Although Cannon previously said "never say never" to a reconciliation with the "love of his life" it appears he has had a change of heart. Asked whether they'd get back together or "have sex" again as Stern put it, he replied: "Nah, I'm good man. I'm not a repeat offender. Once I'm done, I'm done."