Anderson Cooper has revealed he asked his ex, Benjamin Maisani, to help raise his newborn son because he thinks ‘it’s good to have two parents’.
Anderson, 52, dated nightclub owner Benjamin, 47, for a decade before they split in 2018 – but the former couple will be co-parenting Anderson’s son, Wyatt, who was born through a surrogate in late April.
‘I don’t really have a family, and so my friends become my family,’ Anderson explained Tuesday during an interview on The Howard Stern Show. ‘This is somebody that I was involved with for 10 years, he’s a great guy.’
Anderson Cooper opens up about why he asked his ex Benjamin Maisani to help raise his son: ‘My friends become my family’
‘My ex is a great guy’: Anderson, 52, dated nightclub owner Benjamin Maisani, 47, for a decade before they split in 2018. The pair are pictured in 2015
Anderson welcomed son Wyatt via a surrgoate late last month
Anderson has no full siblings. His brother, Carter, committed suicide in 1988.
Anderson’s mother, fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt, passed away last year at the age of 95.
She became a single mom when Anderson was just 10, after her husband, Wyatt, died during open heart surgery.
‘When I was a little kid, it was just my mom and my brother, but my mom she was not the most parental person,’ Anderson told Howard Stern Tuesday.
‘I wish some adult, after my dad died, had stepped in and just been like ‘I’ll take you to a ballgame, lets go out to lunch, let’s just talk’. But no one ever did that’.
Anderson explained that experience helped him to realize he wanted his newborn son to have more than one parent.
‘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,’ he stated.
‘My ex is a great guy and I think it’s good to have two parents, if you can’.
Anderson (bottom left) has no immediate family members left. He is pictured in a 1972 family portrait with father Wyatt, mother Gloria Vanderbilt, and older brother, Carter
‘I wish some adult, after my dad died, had stepped in’: While Anderson was close to mom Gloria, he told Howard Stern ‘she was not the most parental person’. The pair are pictured in 2016
Anderson went on to reveal that he will be called ‘dad’, while Benjamin will called ‘papa’.
‘My ex is French, so he’s gonna speak in French to the kid,’ Cooper explained.
Last week, Anderson revealed that Benjamin was in the delivery room with him when the surrogate carrying Wyatt gave birth.
While Anderson told Howard Stern that they ‘didn’t work out as a couple’, Us Weekly recently reported that the pair are trying to rekindle their romance.
‘They very quietly got back together and are planning ahead. Ben is selling one of his clubs and cutting back on how much he does at night so he can spend more time at home with Anderson and the baby,’ a source told the magazine.
Benjamin and Anderson are pictured together in New York back in 2013. They split in March 2018 after a decade together
Benjamin was in the delivery room when the surrogate gave birth to Anderson’s son Wyatt (pictured) late last month
Anderson revealed last week that he’s not taking paternity leave after his son’s birth, so he can keep reporting on the coronavirus pandemic.
‘This is not some story, this is life and death. This is as serious as it gets,’ Cooper said, during an interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Pandemic: Cooper revealed last week that he’s not taking paternity leave after his son’s birth, so he can keep reporting on the coronavirus pandemic
‘It’s more important than ever before that things be true and accurate. That’s one of the reasons why I’m not taking time off,’ Cooper added.
‘Thankfully, I can do some work from home and stuff, but I feel like this is an extraordinary time to be in this business as a reporter and to be able to try to help inform people, give people facts,’ the host said.
He told Colbert: ‘Right now, facts and science, to give people the truth, is the difference between life and death.’