TV host Nick Cannon revealed his lifelong crush on wife Mariah Carey finally paid off because he “spoke it into existence”.

The comedian and DJ, who hosts hit TV show America’s Got Talent, says he told the pop diva that they were destined to be together five years before they began dating.

He opened up on the Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien, telling the host: “I always say I spoke our relationship into existence.

“I was always asked who my celebrity crush is and I’d always say Mariah Carey.

“People would be like ‘yeah whatever’, like that’s never going to happen.

“Then I saw her at an awards show one day and I told her that one day it would be you and I. Her entourage hauled her off and I didn’t see her for like five years.”

The next time he saw her was when Carey called to ask him to appear in one of her music videos.

“She called and asked me what concept I would like to do, and I said ‘I want to play your love interest’.

“We sat down and talked and we’ve been inseparable since.”

Cannon, 28, married 40-year-old Carey in April 2008 in the Bahamas.