via USA Today

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon chose the nation’s capital as the backdrop for their first public appearance since he was hospitalized over the holidays for kidney failure.

The couple put their love on display at Saturday evening’s BET Honors.

Carey, resplendent in a form-fitting nude and black gown and mile-high hair, tearily accepted the entertainer award from her on-the-mend husband, Nick Cannon, and their infant son, Moroccan Scott. The tyke’s twin sister, Monroe, remained backstage for a good reason, Carey revealed.

“We were both sewn into our dresses, so she couldn’t make it out,” Carey quipped to the audience at the Warner Theatre.

Cannon, added, “She’s heavy. She’s a diva like her mama.” He also spoke intimately of his wife, revealing that she puts aside the diva mantle to make him soup at 3 o’clock in the morning “when my kidneys ain’t acting right.”

“What most people don’t get to experience is the human,” he said onstage. “To know you guys are honoring her tonight, I have to continue to honor her every day.”

Of Cannon’s discharge from the hospital just 48 hours prior, Carey said, “Thank you, Jesus,” and gave her husband a lusty look, telling the audience that he was “too buff for the tux; it’s incredible.”

BET Honors airs February 13th on BET!

Tags: bet honors 2012, Mariah Carey, mariah carey bet honors 2012, nick cannon kidney failure, nick cannon mariah carey, nick cannon sick