Anderson Cooper reveals his ex, Benjamin Maisani, will be a co-parent to his newborn son Wyatt
Anderson Cooper surprised the world last week when he revealed he had welcomed a newborn son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, via surrogate. Now, the CNN anchor is revealing more details about his budding family. In an interview on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," Cooper said his ex-boyfriend, Benjamin Maisani, will help him raise Wyatt.
Cooper and Maisani broke up in March 2018 after dating for about three years, Entertainment Tonight reports. While talking to Colbert Monday, Cooper said Maisani is "going to be a co-parent to Wyatt even though we're not together anymore."
"He's my family, and I want him to be Wyatt's family as well," he said. Maisani was also in the delivery room when the surrogate gave birth to Wyatt last week.
While Cooper, 52, has publicly posted and spoken on air about his newborn son, Maisani is more private on social media. On Instagram on last week, Cooper opened up about how grateful he was for his surrogate. "As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I'm grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth," he wrote.
"Most of all, I am grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, and watched over him lovingly, and tenderly, and gave birth to him. It is an extraordinary blessing — what she, and all surrogates give to families who can't have children," his post continued.
On "The Late Show," Cooper said this change in his life is like "tectonic plates shifting, except it doesn't leave you in rubble."
Cooper also revealed that his friend Andy Cohen, who also welcomed a son via surrogate, is helping him out.
"My son is entirely wearing hand-me-downs from Andy Cohen's son," Cooper said. He blamed this on two things: being cheap, and not being able to shop during the pandemic. Cohen became a dad to Benjamin in February 2019.
