“He was 6.8 pounds at birth, and he is healthy and happy,” Cooper said while introducing Sebastian to the world. “Even his occasional hiccups are, to me, adorable,” adding that the newborn “mostly just sleeps and eats and he certainly poops, but he already seems like a wise and thoughtful little chap.” Cooper continued, “We want to thank the amazing doctors and nurses who helped bring Sebastian into the world, and most of all thank the surrogate who carried Sebastian and gave birth to him. The sacrifices she and her family—her entire family—made, and the love that they gave Sebastian this past year has been extraordinary.” On-air announcements are becoming somewhat of a tradition for his expanding family, as he also announced the birth of his first son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, on CNN in April 2020. The journalist and family man regularly shares sweet snaps of his sons on Instagram and has spoken about how fatherhood changed him. Below, get to know Anderson Cooper’s kids and his co-parent,Benjamin Maisani.
How many kids does Anderson Cooper have?
Anderson Cooper has two kids, Wyatt and Sebastian. It seems Wyatt is ready to be a big brother, as Cooper shared a photo of the 22-month-old beaming after the arrival of his younger sibling. “If he looks particularly happy it’s because he just became a big brother,” Cooper explained. He also said Wyatt helped assemble the newborn’s crib and is “thrilled” and “loves to wheel him around in a little stroller.” A year before welcoming Sebastian, Cooper hinted he planned to grow his family. While talking about Wyatt on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021, he said he thought “it would be great for [Wyatt] to have a sibling.” He continued, “I’m not sure I can handle another, but he’s such an easy kid. He’s still sleeping like 12 and a half hours every night. He eats his sweet peas and mushed cauliflower…he’s just a happy little chappie.” In 2020, he told WSJ Magazine that becoming a father changed his life—and not just because he now wakes up at seven instead of being a “late riser” while working nights. “[Fatherhood] changed everything,” he said. “I’ve often in my life felt like I was waiting for my actual life to begin—it’s obviously ridiculous because I’m 53 years old—but… I’ve been very focused on getting to some place, getting a story. Because I’m focused on him, it gives an order to everything.”
What are Anderson Cooper’s kids’ names?
Anderson Cooper’s kids are named Wyatt Morgan Cooper and Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper.
Wyatt Morgan Cooper
Cooper’s eldest son has a name filled with family significance. Wyatt pays homage to Cooper’s father, Wyatt Cooper, who passed away when the CNN anchor was 10 years old. “I hope I can be as good a dad as he was,” Anderson wrote on Instagram. Morgan, meanwhile, is a “family name” from Cooper’s mom Gloria Vanderbilt’s side of the family tree. “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,” he continued the caption.
Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper
Cooper has yet to reveal the meaning behind his newborn son Sebastian’s name. His last name, however, is a combination of Cooper’s and his co-parent and former partner Maisani’s last names. In addition to announcing Sebastian’s birth, Cooper revealed that Maisani is adopting Wyatt and the 1-year-old’s last name will also soon change to Maisani-Cooper.
Will Anderson Cooper give his kids an inheritance?
While the journalist has a net worth of $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, he doesn’t plan on leaving a large inheritance for his kids. “I don’t believe in passing on huge amounts of money,” he said on an episode of the Morning Meeting podcast in 2021. “I’m not that interested in money, but I don’t intend to have some sort of pot of gold for my son. I’ll go with what my parents said… ‘College will be paid for, and then you gotta get on it.’” His philosophy truly follows in his family’s footsteps; mom Vanderbiltreportedly left him less than $1.5 million after she passed away in 2019. It seems he wasn’t expecting to inherit much, as he said on The Howard Stern Show in 2014 that his mom had “made clear…that there’s no trust fund.” He added, “I don’t believe in inheriting money… I think it’s a curse… From the time I was growing up, if I felt like there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have been so motivated.”
Who does Anderson Cooper have a son with?
Anderson Cooper co-parents both of his children with former partner Maisani. “Wyatt and Sebastian are being raised by my best friend and former partner, Benjamin Maisani. We’re co-parents,” Cooper explained on Anderson Cooper 360. “Wyatt calls me ‘Daddy’ and Benjamin ‘Papa.’ We’re a family.” The pair were first linked in 2009, although Cooper didn’t announce his relationship with Maisani until 2015, three years after he came out publicly. While they ended their nine-year romantic relationship in 2018, Cooper and Maisani remained friends and co-parents. Cooper called their unique situation “awesome” in a 2021 interview with PEOPLE, explaining, “It’s probably an unusual setup, but I knew he would be a great dad, and he is. We’re exes, but we’re family to each other, and we love each other as family and as co-parents.” While he admitted that they have the “usual bickering that any two people have when there’s a kid involved, like what time should he go to swimming class, or should he wear the overalls, or whatever,” Cooper said he and his ex “get along great.” He continued, “I’ve always believed that if you’ve been with somebody and that ends, in terms of an intimate relationship, if you love somebody, there’s no reason why that love shouldn’t continue.” Now, with two children, there’s even more love to go around. The exes are both family focused, and during his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021, Cooper recalled Maisani crying when Wyatt got his first shot. “He’s become this, like, big softie,” he said. “It’s really sweet to see.” Don’t expect the two to get back together anytime soon, however, as he told DeGeneres that it’s “not gonna happen.”
What does Benjamin Maisani do for a living?
Maisani is a businessman and nightclub owner who’s reportedly owned three bars in New York City over the years. He was born in France and later moved to New York City, where he studied at Hunter College. While he made several public appearances while dating Cooper, he doesn’t appear to have a public Instagram presence currently.
Are Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper dating?
Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper are not dating, although the possibility wasn’t always off the table. They were set up on a date in the ‘90s, but things fizzled fast when Cohen brought up Cooper’s famous family. “When Andy and I were first set up on a blind date—which never happened because we had a phone call and after two minutes, I was like, ‘I’m not dating this guy,’” Cooper revealed on Watch What Happens Livein 2016. “He broke my cardinal rule, which is, he mentioned my mom within the first, like, four sentences of meeting me. If somebody does that, that’s a deal breaker. I was like, ‘And we’re never going on a date.’” Years later, the pair are longtime friends and have far more in common than just their initials. In addition to hitting the road together for an unscripted stage tour, “AC2: An Intimate Evening with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen,” they’ve also co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live since 2017. The latter has brought several memorable moments—and sparked a slew of memes—over the years, including when Cohen rang in 2022 while drunk on-air. Another thing the famous friends have in common? They’re both parents. Cohen has one son, Benjamin Allen Cohen, who he welcomed via surrogate in February 2019. Perhaps Benjamin and Sebastian will go on to be BFFs like their dads, as the 3-year-old already coined his own nickname for the newborn. “Today we met our new pal Sebastian Maisani-Cooper!” Cohen wrote on Instagram days after the birth announcement, sharing a snap of the two kids. “He’s a peaceful beauty. Ben calls him ‘Wheels’! Mazel to Anderson & Benjamin.” Next, His ‘Hart’ Is Full! Get to Know Kevin Hart’s 4 Kids and Their Mothers
