Anderson Cooper Reveals Why He's Raising His Son With His Ex Ben Maisani

Anderson Cooper is opening up about what it’s like co-parenting his newborn son, Wyatt, with ex Benjamin Maisani.

The CNN anchor explained why he made the decision during his guest appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday (May 12, 2020).

“I don’t really have a family, and so my friends become my family. And this is somebody that I was involved with for 10 years, he’s a great guy,” Anderson said of his ex and why they’re co-parenting Wyatt together.

He added, “We didn’t work out as a couple… but when I was a little kid, it was just my mom and my brother. But it was my mom and she was not the most parental person and I wish some adult after my dad died, had stepped in.”

“So I thought, if something happens to me or even if something doesn’t happen to me, the more people love my son and are in his life, I’m all for that,” Cooper expressed. “My ex is a great guy and it’s good to have two parents, if you can.”

Cooper also revealed that since Maisani is French, they’ll teach Wyatt to call him “papa,” while Anderson will go by “dad” or “daddy.”

The CNN anchor welcomed Wyatt last month. He is named for Cooper’s father, who died when Anderson was 10.

Cooper told Stern his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, “was not the most parental person, and I wish some adult after my dad died had stepped in and just been like, ‘You know what, I’ll take you to a ballgame.'”

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I want to share with you some joyful news. On Monday, I became a father. This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old. He is named after my father, who died when I was ten. I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. My son's middle name is Morgan. It's a family name on my mom's side. I know my mom and dad liked the name morgan because I recently found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me. Wyatt Morgan Cooper. My son. He was 7.2 lbs at birth, and he is sweet, and soft, and healthy and I am beyond happy. 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. 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 cant have children. My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues.

A post shared by andersoncooper (@andersoncooper) on Apr 30, 2020 at 6:51pm PDT