Anderson Cooper never imagined he’d be able to have kids because he’s a child himself.
The CNN anchor, 54, said to People: “When I was 12 years old and knew I was gay and thought about my life, it always upset me because I thought, ‘I will never be able to have a kid.’”
He is the proud father of two handsome sons forty years later.
Cooper welcomed Wyatt Morgan, his first son, in April 2020.
Following his birth, Cooper revealed that his son was given the name Wyatt Emory Cooper in honour of his late father, and that the name Morgan was a contender for the boy’s name from his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt’s side of the family.
Cooper admitted on Ellen DeGeneres’ EllenTube that he bought a lot of parenting books before Wyatt was born but never read any of them.
“I got all these books about being a parent, and I didn’t read any of them. It turns out you actually have to read the books,” he said. “Just buying the books themselves, and having them around doesn’t work. You actually have to read them.”
Cooper said he loved “everything” about being a parent, despite having doubts about his parenting abilities. Additionally, he received a lot of support, particularly from his ex-partner in parenting, Benjamin Maisani.
“It’s probably an unusual setup, but I knew he would be a great dad, and he is. We’re exes, but we’re family to each other, and we love each other as family and as co-parents.”
The “unusual” family has grown recently.
Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper was a recent addition to Cooper’s family, he revealed on his show Anderson Cooper 360. He also disclosed that Wyatt, who is now 22 months old, was about to be adopted by Maisani.
“This is Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper. He was 6.8 pounds at birth and he was healthy and happy and even his occasional hiccups, are to me, adorable. He mostly just sleeps and eats and certainly poops, but he already seems like a wise and thoughtful little chap.”
The CNN host, who refers to Maisani as his best friend, intends to raise both of his sons together.
Although becoming a parent for the first time may have been too much to handle at first, Cooper claimed that this time he is “definitely calmer.”
Cooper, who now has two adorable children, intends to take some time off work to spend quality time with his sons before they grow up.