The Heartwarming Reason Anderson Cooper Is Co-Parenting With His Ex

Anderson Cooper has thoroughly been enjoying fatherhood—including co-parenting with his former partner Benjamin Maisani.

While Cooper and Maisani split up in 2018, they’ve been a part of each other’s lives since and consider themselves family. “There is no acrimony between us. Even though it’s maybe unconventional because he’s my ex, he is my family,” Cooper told People Magazine in an interview. “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.”

Cooper’s personal experience losing his own father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, at 10 years old during heart surgery also played a role in wanting Maisani to co-parent with him. "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,” he continued.

One significant way fatherhood has changed them both? They’re a lot more emotional now. “I cry at things I never cried at before,” Cooper jokingly told the outlet. “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.”

The CNN anchor, 53, welcomed his son, Wyatt Morgan, on April 27. He shared the news during a special segment on his show, “Anderson Cooper 360.” Since his arrival, Wyatt has not only changed Cooper’s opinion on coffee, but also how he views the future.

“It feels like my life has actually begun. And I sort of wonder, what was I waiting for? This is a new level of love. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced, and yet it’s also very familiar and incredibly special and intimate. It’s really extraordinary,” Cooper told People Magazine. “I feel invested in the future in a way I hadn’t really before. There’s something about having a child that makes you feel connected to what is happening and you want to make sure that the world this child is growing up in is a better one. You suddenly worry much more about the future of all of us.”