Andrew Rannells kissed and told: How dating Anderson Cooper inspired his Girls storyline

Actor Andrew Rannells is pulling back the curtain on a 22-year-old secret: How his short-lived romance with CNN's Anderson Cooper served as the inspiration for his character's relationship in seasons five and six of Lena Dunham's Girls series on HBO.

In last month's episode of The Daily Beast's Obsessed podcast, hosted by Kevin Fallon, the actor revealed he mentioned their relationship in passing to Dunham and her co-showrunner.

"I told Lena and Jenni Konner a story about when I was 25 that I had dated Anderson Cooper,” Rannells, 47, told Fallon. “And I told them about the experience and what that was like.”

Cooper, 59, is now a single dad of two sons and not known to be dating anyone. But in 2004, the CNN anchorman was anchored just long enough to Rannells for it to be memorable. “It was a very brief relationship, but when I told them that, they were like, ‘Oh, that’s a fun story,’” he recalled.

Fans will recall that Rannells played Hannah's ex-boyfriend Elijah Krantz on the hit series from 2012 to 2019. In the third episode of the first season, he nonchalantly came out as gay, then explored bisexuality in season two, and was courted by a wealthy lover, Pal, in seasons three and four.

And then came the bald version of the real-life silver fox of CNN, a sophisticated and iconic journalist Elijah met in a bar: Dill Harcourt, played by Corey Stoll. Dill is described by Out in 2017 as an "Anderson Cooper-esque character" and "an ideal boyfriend and apparently great in bed. But he ultimately left poor Elijah heartbroken," when Dill breaks it off in season six over their age difference. Elijah comes to realize Dill is not only unable but also unwilling to commit to a monogamous relationship with him.

This is the first time Rannells has confirmed his romance with Cooper, reported Us magazine. But as soon as Dill appeared in season five in 2016, there was rampant speculation among fans, critics, and journalists about who might be the real-life inspiration for the character. Cooper, who acknowledged being a fan of the series, was asked if Dill was based on him.

“I’m obsessed with Girls, but I’m a few episodes behind," Cooper told the New York Post in 2016. "I just met Lena Dunham at Sundance, and she didn’t mention anything to me, but I’d be flattered."

And then Cooper added: “Wait — is that the guy Andrew Rannells’ [character] is dating? I thought he was more of a [Bill] O’Reilly character. I’m a friend of Andrew’s. I should ask him.”

While there's no word on whether Rannells and Cooper ever had that conversation, it appears the cat's out of the bag now. Or is the Dill out of the jar?

Us magazine reported it reached out to Cooper for a comment but hadn't received a response.