Anderson Cooper Says His Ex Will Be A Co-Parent For Son Wyatt

Baby Wyatt will have a co-parent in Anderson Cooper’s ex-partner Benjamin Maisani

It’s been just over a week now since Anderson Cooper announced the birth of his son, Wyatt Morgan. In that time, we’ve been eating up all the news we can get about the tiny new arrival, which means we were especially excited to catch Cooper’s interview with Stephen Colbert — the two men are close friends who have delivered profound, heart-wrenching interviews together on more than one occasion.

This time, Cooper blessed us with more details about his close friendship with fellow father Andy Cohen, how his ex-partner is now a co-parent for Wyatt, and what it was like welcoming a new life in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, when so many people are sick, suffering, and dying.

“It’s extraordinary. It’s astonishing. I just stare at him and hold him and I just can’t believe that he’s going to depend on me and he’s here,” Cooper said. “I’ve never dreamed — I mean I’ve always dreamed about it, but I never thought I would actually be able to do it and it’s just been incredible.”

During the interview, Cooper revealed that his ex-partner of nine years, Benjamin Maisani, will be a co-parent to Wyatt, even though they split in 2018.

“You know, he’s my family,” Cooper said. “And I want him to be Wyatt’s family as well.”

That’s not the only support Cooper is getting, though — his good friend Andy Cohen, who became a father last year, has been there all along to provide support and encouragement.

“He obviously knew about it well in advance, and he’s been encouraging me all along,” Cooper explained. “And I sort of thought to myself, if he can do it, well… and that sort of gave me the final push.”

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As for the timing of Wyatt Morgan’s arrival? Cooper opened up about welcoming his son so soon after his mother’s death and while the world is gripped by the coronavirus.

“My mom died in June, so it hasn’t even been a full year. In the course of one year, to experience the loss of her life and to have been there with her when she breathed her last breath,” Cooper said. “And then to suddenly, last Monday night, be in a delivery room with this amazing surrogate… to be there and to see a new human being come into existence, it was just extraordinary.”

He added, “I thought a lot about my mom and seeing the life leave her body, and seeing a living being coming out of this wonderful woman, it’s just extraordinary. In the midst of tragedy and horror, you find humanity as well. You expect to see terrible things, but there’s also triumphant things. It’s the fullness of the human experience.”