Celebrity Parents Mariah Carey Talks Co-Parenting with Nick Cannon Over the Holidays: 'He's Part of Their Lives Forever' "It's important for the kids," superstar Mariah Carey told Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb Friday of coparenting her twins with ex Nick Cannon By Jen Juneau Jen Juneau Twitter Jen Juneau is a digital news writer for PEOPLE since 2016. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 2, 2016 01:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Mariah Carey is a force to be reckoned with in the music world, but when it comes to parenting, it’s all “Honey” between her and ex-husband Nick Cannon. “We just saw each other for Thanksgiving, actually. It’s important for the kids,” the singer told Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford on Friday’s edition of the Today show of twins Moroccan and Monroe (A.K.A. “DemBabies”), 5½. Of Cannon, whom Carey was married to for eight years before their divorce was finalized last month, she says, “He’s part of their lives forever.” Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Babies newsletter. The pop superstar’s brand new eight-part docu-series Mariah’s World premieres Sunday on E! — and Carey tells Kotb and Gifford that her kids’ well-being came first when she was filming. “I wanted to make sure … that they were comfortable at all times,” says Carey, whose kids will appear in the series. “I never wanna be a stage mom. Like, that’s not me.” She continues, “Actually, I wasn’t going to have them in the docu-series at all. But they were with me — they’ve got their activities [and there’s] so many different things that they’re learning [that are] really invaluable.” The show will give fans an inside look at the singer’s recently wrapped Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour, as well as include cameos from Cannon, 36. One big wrench in the middle of filming? Carey’s split from then-fiancé James Packer, which she notes she didn’t let come between her and keeping her show in production. “I can’t give somebody that much power,” she says. “Are you kidding me? … You gotta keep on pushing.” RELATED VIDEO: Nick Cannon on Co-Parenting With Mariah Carey Kotb and Gifford note that they’ve seen the photos floating around of Carey and dancer Bryan Tanaka canoodling on a beach in Hawaii. But the chanteuse’s lips are sealed about that. “I refuse to answer under the grounds that it may incriminate me,” she says. “In other words, guilty as all get-out,” Gifford jokes. “He’s cute, though, by the way, isn’t he?” Kotb encourages. “You pick cute men.” Samantha Okazaki/NBC News’ “TODAY” “This is so pretty in here,” Carey says of the studio decorations, changing the subject. “Did you decorate that tree to match your ensembles?” Mariah’s World premieres on E! Sunday at 9 p.m. EST / 8 p.m. CST.