The CNN anchor explained why he made the decision during his guest appearance on SiriusXMโs The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday (May 12, 2020).
โI donโt really have a family, and so my friends become my family. And this is somebody that I was involved with for 10 years, heโs a great guy,โ Anderson said of his ex and why theyโre co-parenting Wyatt together.
He added, โWe didnโt work out as a coupleโฆ 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.โ
โSo I thought, if something happens to me or even if something doesnโt happen to me, the more people love my son and are in his life, Iโm all for that,โ Cooper expressed. โMy ex is a great guy and itโs good to have two parents, if you can.โ
Cooper also revealed that since Maisani is French, theyโll teach Wyatt to call him โpapa,โ while Anderson will go by โdadโ or โdaddy.โ
The CNN anchor welcomed Wyatt last month. He is named for Cooperโs father, who died when Anderson was 10.
Cooper told Stern his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, โwas not the most parental person, and I wish some adult after my dad died had stepped in and just been like, โYou know what, Iโll take you to a ballgame.'โ