Anderson Cooper Opens Up About Fatherhood: 'It Feels Like My Life Has Begun'

In a new interview, Anderson Cooper shares the “new level of love” he’s experiencing as dad to new baby Wyatt

Amid the fear and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, Anderson Cooper made our timelines a little brighter on April 30th by sharing the happy news of the birth of his son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper. Now, he’s bringing us a little more sweetness by opening up in a new interview about life as a dad — and it’s exactly as adorable as you’d expect.

Cooper tells PEOPLE that becoming a father is something he never thought he’d get to experience. “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 says for the cover story in the magazine’s first-ever Pride issue. “This is a dream come true.”

Cooper is co-parenting Wyatt with former partner Benjamin Maisani. It sounds like the newly-formed little family is nothing but bliss. “It feels like my life has actually begun,” Cooper shares with the mag. “And I sort of wonder, what was I waiting for? This is a new level of love. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced, and yet it’s also very familiar and incredibly special and intimate. It’s really extraordinary.”

Although the seasoned CNN anchor has covered the news for years, he says it’s all taken on a new meaning now. “I feel invested in the future in a way I hadn’t really before,” he explains. “There’s something about having a child that makes you feel connected to what is happening and you want to make sure that the world this child is growing up in is a better one. You suddenly worry much more about the future of all of us.”

But of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses. Cooper admits that he’s not exactly sleeping great these days. “I’m more tired than I’ve ever been, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” he says. We all feel that.

The new dad opens up about his newly emotional state ever since his little boy came into the world. “I cry at things I never cried at before,” he says. “And Benjamin, I’ve never seen him cry, but I couldn’t believe how weepy he gets with Wyatt. I find myself being overwhelmed with emotion, and it’s a lovely thing.”

Echoing his birth announcement for Wyatt when he said he, “never thought it would be possible to have a child” and that he’s “grateful for all those who have paved the way,” he again acknowledges, “all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people who struggled for generations and have died never thinking this was a possibility.”