Anderson Cooper is on the cover of People's Pride issue for June, and he's got a ton of new updates about baby Wyatt. He also has plenty to say about his decision to co-parent with his "best friend" Benjamin Maisani.
In the interview, Anderson makes a point to underscore that he and Benjamin are not romantically involved. He explained, "There is no acrimony between us. Even though it's maybe unconventional because he's my ex, he is my family. I knew what it was like growing up without a dad. If there was ever something that happened to me, I would want Wyatt to be surrounded by love."
Tragically, Anderson really does know a lot about losing close family members. His father died due to complications from surgery when Anderson was only 10, and then his brother, Carter, committed suicide at the age of 23. Anderson's mother, the legendary fashion icon and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, died in June 2019.
In 2017, Anderson spoke about the deaths of his father and his brother and what each experience has meant for his own life: "It is very close to the surface still. It's incredible to me that … I've lived longer without him than I lived with him in my life. It is so bizarre to me — same thing with my dad."
"My dad's death radically changed who I was and became. I think the person I was before I was 10 was much more extroverted and outgoing and funny, and was probably kind of a more interesting person than the person after he died. I became much more introverted. I became very concerned about survival."
Anderson also shared that after his father died, he was increasingly worried about both his mother and his older brother, Carter. Ten years after the death of their father, Carter committed suicide.
"I think about my brother, I think about his death every single day. To this day [it] is so shocking to me. It's still — there are days where it's just like a punch in the gut."
He also said, "All that stuff, it never leaves you. People in TV use that horrible word 'closure,' which … I think should just be banned, that word, for anyone who has experienced loss, particularly early loss, there's no such thing as closure. I mean, wounds heal, but scars remain, whether or not people can see them."
As he began working in reporting and the news, Anderson realized that he was infinitely more interested in working in dangerous situations, as opposed to behind a desk. "I realize a lot of that [early foreign reporting] was about not being sure I could survive, and wanting to be around other people where life and death was very much an issue, where people weren't just having happy talk at a dinner party about facial moisturizers. I wanted to go to someplace obscure, where people's voices weren't being heard. … [where] everything is gutted, it's raw, it's real, and I needed that. I wanted that."
Anderson and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, were also very close. He gave a beautiful eulogy at her funeral in 2019, saying, "The last few weeks, every time I kissed her goodbye, I'd say, 'I love you, mom.' She would look at me, and say, 'I love you, too. You know that.' And she was right. I did know that. I knew it from the moment I was born, and I'll know it for the rest of my life. And, in the end, what greater gift can a mother give to her son?"
While Anderson has been overjoyed by the arrival of his son, Wyatt, he's also wished that his family could celebrate with him. "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."
Knowing that his immediate family won't have the opportunity to know and love Wyatt is probably a big factor in why Anderson is so open to co-parenting with Benjamin. It has to feel nice knowing that Wyatt will be loved by many people, especially the people whom Anderson is closest to.
Even though the two broke up in March 2018, they've continued to be friends. And it even sounds like Benjamin is living in Anderson's home while they raise their son together. Anderson also shared that Benjamin wasn't sure that he wanted children while they were together.
"While we were a couple, he wasn't sure he wanted kids, which was one of the issues we'd always had. But when I decided, 'I'm just going to do this,' he started to be interested."
And it sounds like Anderson and Benjamin definitely have something key in common with a lot of parents: Everything makes you cry. "I cry at things I never cried at before. And Benjamin, I've never seen him cry … but I couldn't believe how weepy he gets with Wyatt. I'm maybe a little bit of a harder egg to crack but I find myself being overwhelmed with emotion, and it's a lovely thing."
